BIBLIOS

Document type
Journal articles

Document subtype
Full paper

Title
Reproductive traits of the European catfish, Silurus glanis, during the early stages of invasion

Participants in the publication
Christos Gkenas (Author)
Dep. Biologia Animal
MARE
Vera Sequeira (Author)
Dep. Biologia Animal
MARE
Diogo Ribeiro (Author)
MARE
João Gago (Author)
Diogo Dias (Author)
MARE
Chandani R. Verma (Author)
Pradeep Kumkar (Author)
Filipe Ribeiro (Author)
Dep. Biologia Animal
MARE

Summary
In recent decades, the European catfish Silurus glanis has spread across Europe and elsewhere,\\\\\\\\nsignificantly impacting the native fauna of the recipient ecosystems. Studies on its reproductive traits from\\\\\\\\nits non-native range are limited, although this is a critical step in developing effective management plans.\\\\\\\\nHere, we explore the reproductive characteristics of invasive European catfish populations in the Lower\\\\\\\\nRiver Tagus in Portugal, focusing on its sex ratio, size at maturity, spawning period, fecundity and oocyte\\\\\\\\ndiameter. European catfish were collected monthly by electrofishing, gill nets, baited hooks, and professional\\\\\\\\nfishermen from January 2022 to November 2023. A total of 217 females, 156 males and 301 immature fish were\\\\\\\\nanalysed. The female-to-male sex ratio was 1.4 : 1, with females and males reaching size at first maturity (TL50)\\\\\\\\nat 72.9 and 68.8 cm total length, respectively. The spawning season was protracted, from February to June,\\\\\\\\nshowing asynchronous oocyte development patterns. The absolute fecundity was positively correlated with\\\\\\\\ntotal length and total weight and ranged from 8,364 to 319,000 oocytes. Relative fecundity varied from 4.39\\\\\\\\nto 23.53 oocytes, with the mean diameter of the matured oocytes ranging from 1.50 to 3.21 mm. The results\\\\\\\\nobtained in this study enhance our understanding of the reproductive biology of invasive species and can\\\\\\\\ncontribute to the development of effective management strategies, such as population control and density-\\\\\\\\ndependent fecundity strategies.


Institution
FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA

Where published
Journal of Vertebrate Biology

Publication Identifiers
ISSN - 2694-7684
eISSN - 2694-7684

Publisher
Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic


Document Identifiers
DOI - https://doi.org/10.25225/jvb.24122
URL - https://doi.org/10.25225/jvb.24122

Rankings
Web Of Science Q2 (2023) - 1.5 - ZOOLOGY
SCOPUS Q2 (2023) - 3.4 - Aquatic Science
SCOPUS Q2 (2023) - 3.4 - Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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