Invasiveness risk assessment of non-native species of the redbelly tilapia (Coptodon zillii, Gervais 1848) in Shadegan wetland basin

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Expert/Protected areas and Biodiversity division, Department of Environment, Sari, Mazandaran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: The introduction of invasive fish species into aquatic ecosystems causes various adverse ecological and socio-economic impacts. The first step in analyzing the effects of these species is to identify the risk.  Then, different tools have been developed to identify potential invasive species and evaluate the potential degree of their invasiveness to support decision-makers in analyzing the invasive risk of these species. This study aimed to assess the invasive potential of the non-native species redbelly tilapia (Coptodon zillii, Gervais 1848) in the Shadegan Wetland basin (the Karun and Jarahi catchments) using some of these tools.
Material and methods: The level of risk for C. zillii in the trinational risk assessment protocol was determined based on the results of the two components "Probability of Establishment" and "Consequences of Establishment". In the German-Austrian Blacklist Information System (GABLIS), the invasive potential of the species was evaluated according to the distribution in the study area. The non-native species were screened by the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) model according to the threshold of the assessment area; and the rank of species invasion was calculated based on the probability of species establishment, expansion, and environmental effects, using the Harmonia+ method. Also, the climate matching between the introduced and native range of the species was carried out with the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system.
Results and discussion: The results of trinational risk assessment indicated that the species posed a high potential rank of placing at each step of introduction, establishment, and expansion potential and the possibility of economic and environmental impacts in the study area. The results of the GABLIS protocol showed that the non-native species C. zillii has been widely distributed in the risk assessment area and was placed on the blacklist and the subset management list (b3). In the AS-ISK risk assessment, the risk score of the species was 44, which was higher than the tool threshold (22.5) for the study area. This score indicates that this species has a high invasive risk in the wetland. The overall risk score in the Harmonia+ method, which is a function of invasiveness and species impacts, was assessed as high for the redbelly tilapia. Based on the results, the risk of establishment and dispersal of this species in the study area is high, and its environmental impacts are significant. Also, there was a high climate match between the risk assessment area and the native range of the species in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. 
Conclusions: The trinational risk assessment methods, GABLIS, AS-ISK, and Harmonia+ models were able to show the invasiveness of the non-native C. zillii in Shadegan Wetland basin as literature and field evidence demonstrate that the species has exerted strong and adverse impacts on native fishes and local people livelihood in the risk assessment area. Given the results of risk assessment methods and the risks posed by this species, it is highly recommended that large-scale control and management measures should be seriously implemented.

Keywords

References

Abdoli, A., 2016. The Field Guide of the Inland Water Fishes of Iran. Iranshenasi Publications, Tehran, Iran.
Abdoli, A., Valikhani, H., Nejat, F. and Khosravi, M., 2022. Non-native Freshwater Fish of Iran: Identification, Impacts, Management. Jihad Daneshgahi Publication, Tehran, Iran.
 
Almeida, D., Ribeiro, F., Leunda, PM., Vilizzi, L. and Copp G.H., 2013. Effectiveness of FISK, an invasiveness screening tool for non-native freshwater fishes, to perform risk identification assessments in the iberian Peninsula. Risk Analysis. 33, 1404-1413.
CBD, 2015. Convention on Biological Diversity. https://www.cbd.int/invasive/WhatareIAS.shtml.
Clarke, S.A., Vilizzi, L., Lee, L., Wood, L.E., Cowie, W.J., Burt, J.A., Mamiit, R.J., Ali, H., Davison, P.I., Fenwick, G.V. and Harmer, R., 2020. Identifying potentially invasive non‐native marine and brackish water species for the Arabian Gulf and sea of Oman. Global change biology, 26(4), 2081-2092.
Coad, B.W., 1998. Systematic biodiversity in the freshwater fishes of Iran, Italian journal of zoology. 65(S1), 101-108.
Copp, G.H., Vilizzi, L., Tidbury, H., Stebbing, P.D., Tarkan, A.S., Miossec, L. and Goulletquer, P., 2016. Development of a generic decision-support tool for identifying potentially invasive aquatic taxa: AS-ISK. Management of Biological Invasions. 7(4), 343–350
D’hondt, B., Vanderhoeven, S., Roelandt, S., Mayer, F., Versteirt, V., Adriaens, T., Ducheyne, E., San Martin, G., Grégoire, J.C., Stiers, I. and Quoilin, S., 2015. Harmonia+ and Pandora+: risk screening tools for potentially invasive plants, animals and their pathogens. Biological Invasions. 17(6), 1869-1883.

Ellender, B.R., Marr, S.M., Weyl, O.L., Zengeya, T., Wasserman, R.J., Alexander, M.E., Ivey, P. and Woodford, D.J., 2017. Evaluating invasion risk for freshwater fishes in South Africa. Bothalia-African Biodiversity & Conservation. 47(2), 1-10.

Esmaeili, H.R., Teimori, A., Owfi, F., Abbasi, K. and Coad B.W., 2014. Alien and invasive freshwater fish species in Iran: Diversity, environmental impacts and management. Iran. J. Ichthyol. 1(2), 61–72.
Essl, F., Nehring, S., Klingenstein, F., Milasowszky, N., Nowack, C. and Rabitsch, W., 2011. Review of risk assessment systems of IAS in Europe and introducing the German–Austrian Black List Information System (GABLIS). Journal for Nature Conservation. 19(6), 339-350.
Gu, D.E., Yu, F.D., Xu, M., Wei, H., Mu, X.D., Luo, D., Yang, Y.X., Pan, Z. and Hu, Y.C., 2018. Temperature effects on the distribution of two invasive tilapia species (Tilapia zillii and Oreochromis niloticus) in the rivers of south China. Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 33(1), 511-524.
IUCN, 2000. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Guidelines for the Prevention of Biodiversity Loss Caused by Alien Invasive Species. Assessed 24 April 2015. www.issg.org/pdf/guidelines_iucn.pdf
Khaefi, R., Esmaeili, H.R., Zareian, H. and Babaei, S., 2014. The first record of the redbelly tilapia, Tilapia zillii (Gervais, 1848), in freshwaters of Iran. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 38(1), 96-98.
Kolar, C.S. and Lodge, D.M., 2001. Progress in invasion biology: predicting invaders. Trends in ecology & evolution, 16(4), 199-204.
Lymbery, A.J., Morine, M., Kanani, H.G., Beatty, S.J. and Morgan, D.L., 2014. Co-invaders: the effects of alien parasites on native hosts. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 3(2), 171-177.
Moghaddas, S.D., Abdoli, A., Hassanzade Kiabi, B. and Rahmani, H., 2021. Risk assessment of the potential invasiveness of Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848) in Anzali wetland using AS-ISK model. Environmental Sciences. 18(2), 255-270.
Rabbaniha, M. and Owfi, F., 2021. Biodiversity and ecology of invasive non-native and alien species with a view to climate change. Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute, Tehran.
Raziei, T., 2017. Köppen-Geiger climate classification of Iran and investigation of its changes during 20th century.Journal of Earth and Space Physics. 43, 419–439.
Ribeiro, F. and Leunda, P.M., 2012. Non‐native fish impacts on mediterranean freshwater ecosystems: current knowledge and research needs. Fisheries Management and Ecology. 19(2), 142-156.
Roozbhfar, R., Dehestani-Esfandabadi, M. and Roozbehfar, S., 2014. First record of the redbelly tilapia, Tilapia zillii (Gervais, 1848) in Iran. Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 5(30), 1045-1046.
Roy, H.E., Rabitsch, W., Scalera, R., Stewart, A., Gallardo, B., Genovesi, P., Essl, F., Adriaens, T., Bacher, S., Booy, O. and Branquart, E., 2018. Developing a framework of minimum standards for the risk assessment of alien species. Journal of Applied Ecology. 55(2), 526-538.
Simonovic, P., Tošić, A., Vassilev, M., Apostolou, A., Mrdak, D., Ristovska, M., Kostov, V., Nikolić, V., Škraba, D., Vilizzi, L. and Copp, G.H., 2013. Risk assessment of non-native fishes in the Balkans Region using fisk, the invasiveness screening tool for non-native freshwater fishes. Mediterranean Marine Science. 14(2), 369-376.
SIMP, 2011. Conservation of Iranian Wetlands in collaboration Governmental organizations, NGOs and Local Communities of Shadegan Wetland, Approved version.
Tabasian, H., Abdoli, A., Valikhani, H., Khosravi, M. and Madiseh, S.D., 2021. An investigation into socio-economic impacts of invasive redbelly tilapia Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848): A case study from the Shadegan Wetland, Iran. Scientific Reports in Life Sciences 2 (3), 25-38
Tarkan, A.S., Vilizzi, L., Top, N., Ekmekçi, F.G., Stebbing, P.D. and Copp, G.H., 2017. Identification of potentially invasive freshwater fishes, including translocated species, in Turkey using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (as‐isk). International Review of Hydrobiology. 102(1-2), 47-56.
Tarkan, A.S., Marr, S.M. and Ekmekçi, F.G., 2015. Non-native and translocated freshwater fish. Fishmed. 3, 28.
Valikhani, H., Abdoli, A., Khezri, K., 2014. A Review of Non-Native Species Risk Assessment Protocols. The 2nd National Conference on Environmental Hazards of Zagros.
Valikhani, H., Abdoli, A., Hassanzadeh Kiabi, B., Nejat, F., Sadeghsaba, M. and Khosravi, M., 2017. A study on the status of invasive tilapia species (Coptodon zillii Gervais, 1848 and Oreochromis aureus Steindachner, 1864) in aquatic ecosystems of Khuzestan Province, Iran. Environmental Sciences. 15(4), 29-44.
Verbrugge, L.N.H., Leuven, R.S. and Velde, G., 2010. Evaluation of international risk assessment protocols for exotic species.
Vilizzi, L., Copp, G. H., Hill, J. E., Adamovich, B., Aislabie, L. and Akin, D. and Bakiu, R., 2021. A global-scale screening of non-native aquatic organisms to identify potentially invasive species under current and future climate conditions. Science of The Total Environment. 788, 147868. 
Environmental Sciences
Volume 20, Issue 3
2022
Pages 211-226

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics