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375
ACTA ZOOLOGICA BULGARICA
Aquatic Ecology
Research Article
*Corresponding author: opetriki@gmail.com
Acta Zool. Bulg., September 2024, 76 (3): 375-382
Published online 12 September 2024
https://www.acta-zoologica-bulgarica.eu/2024/002733
Life-history Traits for Eight Fish Species of the Largest
Greek Lake (Lake Trichonis)
Olga Petriki1*, Alexandra S. Douligeri2, Ioanna Tsionki1,3, Roberta Barbieri1,
Dimitrios K. Moutopoulos2 & Maria T. Stoumboudi1
1Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavyssos, Attica, Greece;
E-mail: opetriki@gmail.com, robertab@hcmr.gr, mstoum@hcmr.gr
2Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Patras, Mesolongi, Greece; E-mail: dmoutopo@upatras.gr
3Laboratory of Zoology, Biological Applications and Technology Department, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece;
E-mail: ioannatsionki@yahoo.gr
Abstract:
assessing, among others, their status, as well as for the formulation of conservation measures and the
implementation of sustainable managerial decisions. In the present study, growth parameters were esti-
Atherina boyeri, Cobitis trichonica, Leucos
panosi, Luciobarbus albanicus, Rhodeus meridionalis, Salaria economidisi, Scardinius acarnanicus and
Tropidophoxinellus hellenicus.-
ploited ones (A. boyeri, L. panosi, L. albanicus, S. acarnanicus and T. hellenicus). For four of the above-
mentioned species (C. trichonica, R. meridionalis, S. economidisi and T. hellenicus), life history data
A. boyeri (a commercially important and the most exploited species in the
lake) and T. hellenicus
descending order by L. albanicus, L. panosi and S. acarnanicus. The information produced in the present
study can be incorporated in ecosystem-based models aiming at the establishment of management and
conservation measures at both species level and ecosystem level.
Key words:
Introduction
The estimation of life-history traits (i.e., growth pa-
sustainably exploited. Reliable estimation of these
traits is also essential for the development of eco-
system models that can be subsequently used for
the establishment of conservation and management
measures (P et al. 2021).
The aim of the present study is the estimation
-
iting the largest lake in Greek territory, Lake Tri-
chonis: Atherina boyeri, Cobitis trichonica, Leucos
panosi, Luciobarbus albanicus, Rhodeus meridi-
onalis, Salaria economidisi, Scardinius acarnani-
cus and Tropidophoxinellus hellenicus. Prior to this
376
Petriki O., Douligeri A.S., Tsionki I., Barbieri R., Moutopoulos D.K. & Stoumboudi M.T.
study, life history data were existed for four of the
species under study, based on surveys conducted in
Trichonis or other Greek lakes during the last 30
years. These were A. boyeri (L & S
2000, L 2001, K et al. 2004), R.
panosi (D & T
1989, L et al. 2005), S. acarnanicus (I-
1981, L 2004), L. albanicus (D-
& E 1989, B et al. 2006). How-
ever, no life history data existed worldwide for C.
trichonica, R. meridionalis, S. economidisi and T.
hellenicus.
With the exception of A. boyeri, all the afore-
mentioned species are endemic to Western Greece
or to the Acheloos drainage (B & E
2006), Moreover, C. trichonica, L. panosi and S.
economidisi have a threatened Red List status. Thus,
their protection should be set as a priority especial-
ly under the pressures of (e.g., A et al.
2016, F& B 2011, Met al.
2017, M
(b) habitat and water degradation, (c) species inva-
sion from unintentional introductions, (d) climate
knowledge regarding their biology and ecology, es-
Materials and Methods
Study area
Lake Trichonis, located in the prefecture of Aitoloa-
karnania in the western part of Greece (38o
o
country with a surface area of 98.6 km2 and a catch-
ment area of 421 km2. It is a deep (maximum depth
= 57 m, mean depth = 29 m), warm and monomic-
tic lake (it exhibits a long period of thermal strati-
oligotrophic to mesotrophic characteristics (K-
& D 2014). It receives both surface and
Lysimachia through a narrow surface channel (2.8
Fisheries exploitation is conducted with ar-
and gill nets) and encircled nets (used only by three
m). The latter are exclusively used for catching A.
boyeri (et al. 2021), the most commercially
valuable species of the lake. There is small market
L. panosi, L. albanicus and S. acarnanicus (which
are caught mainly as by-catch). However, the rest
of the species are either not caught due to the se-
C.
trichonica, R. meridionalis and S. economidisi) or
caught in high numbers and subsequently discarded
due to their negligible commercial value (i.e., T. hel-
lenicus) (et al. 2021). The above result in
( et al. 2021).
Sampling
-
-
thyofauna monitoring in lake water bodies (
2005). All nets were set before sunset and hauled
after dawn, ensuring a stable soak time of approxi-
mate 12 h (details in et al. 2021).
Monthly samples of A. boyeri were also ob-
tained from commercial catches during 2019–2020.
These were 10 monthly samples from May 2019
to February 2020) (for details, see et
al. 2021). We used an encircled net with maximum
length up to 150 m, height up to 30 m and minimum
mesh size of 6 mm complemented with the use of
light (up to three electric lamps with maximum light
intensity of 1500 lm) at depths greater than 35 m.
measured for total length (TL) to the nearest 1 mm
and weighted to the nearest 0.01 g.
Growth parameters
-
der study were constructed. For the estimation of
the life history traits for A. boyeri samples obtained
were combined. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov analy-
sis (K-S test) ( 2010) was used to compare the
length (L) were estimated by modal progression
analysis, using the FISAT II program (et
1984).
For the modal progression analyses, length classes
except for L. albanicus and S. acarnanicus, in which
classes of 10 mm were used. Goodness index Rn
was used as a criterion to identify the (seasonally
length-frequency data ( 1984). To improve
0
was estimated from L and K based on the empiri-
Life-history Traits for Eight Fish Species of the Largest Greek Lake (Lake Trichonis)
377
cal equation of (1979): Log(-t0) = -0.3922 -
0.2752 * LogL - 1.038 * LogK.
The above estimated values were subsequently
used for the calculation of the instantaneous annual
mortality rate (Total mortality rate, Z) ( 1983)
exploited species. Total mortality rate (Z) was also
estimated, using the Beverton and Holt model (-
& 1956): Z= K (L – Lmean) / (Lmean – L’),
where, L is the asymptotic length, K is the curvature
mean is the mean length and
L’ is the lower limit of the smallest length class in-
cluded in the computation. The growth performance
( & .
The natural mortality (M) was calculated by
Pauly’s empirical equation using the growth param-
eters L and k of each species previously estimated
( 1984): Log(M) = -0.0066 – 0.279 * Log(L)
the mean annual temperature of the lake based on
our estimates (T = 17.3 oC). For the calculation of
subtracted from total mortality (Z). The rate of ex-
ploitation (E) was calculated from the estimated val-
the following formula ( 1983): E = F/Z.
-
equal to 0.5 ( et al. 1989).
Results
-
method for all studied species are presented in Table 1.
Length distribution shown that (Fig. 1) C. tri-
chonica peaked to 80-90 mm length, and S. econo-
midisi, R. meridionalis and T. hellenicus peaked to
55 m, 60 mm and 65 mm, respectively. L. albanicus
peaked to 70-80 mm and L. panosi and S. acarnanicus
to 90-110 mm. Length distributions for A. boyeri ex-
gears with the length classes peaked to 55-60 mm and
-
tively, indicating that encircled gear caught larger
individuals. The estimated L values ranged from
81.65 mm for R. meridionalis to 502.80 mm for L.
albanicus. Rate K values ranged from 0.12 years-1 for
L. panosi, to 0.86 years-1 for R. meridionalis. Growth
S. economidisi, to 4.72 for L. albanicus. The species
discarded species T. hellenicus and the commercially
Table 1.
exploited species. n: number of specimens, TL: Total length, Rn: Goodness index, L
Species n TL range
(mm) Average (SD) Rn L∞ (mm) K
(years-1)toMZ Length
converted Z-95% Z+95% E F φ’
Atherina boyeri 6773 41-125 78.0 (12.0) 0.548 127.00 0.83 -0.130 0.844 3.450 3.170 3.730 0.755 2.606 4.127
Cobitis trichonica* 39 53-100 78.0 (14.0) 0.871 104.50 0.44 -0.265 1.118 3.680
Leucos panosi 1358 61-289 118.0 (24.0) 0.334 296.20 0.12 -0.765 0.357 0.700 0.600 0.800 0.490 0.343 4.022
Luciobarbus albanicus 253 56-474 146.0 (80.0) 0.311 502.80 0.21 -0.370 0.234 0.950 0.610 1.300 0.754 0.716 4725
Rhodeus meridionalis* 63 37-75 59.0 (9.0) 0.818 81.65 0.86 -0.141 1.857 3.560
Salaria economidisi* 34 38-70 55.0 (8.0) 0.885 82.20 0.59 -0.210 0.738 3.550
Scardinius acarnanicus 466 62-345 132.0 (51.0) 0.295 397.00 0.22 -0.376 0.256 0.890 0.710 1.060 0.712 0.634 4.540
Tropidophoxinellus hellenicus 6772 40-115 69.0 (12.0) 0.266 125.10 0.68 -0.160 0.744 3.840 3.470 4.200 0.806 3.096 3.600
378
Petriki O., Douligeri A.S., Tsionki I., Barbieri R., Moutopoulos D.K. & Stoumboudi M.T.
important A. boyeri, which exhibited the highest val-
L. albanicus, S.
acarnanicus and L. panosi. The Z curves produced
from the length converted catch curve method are giv-
exploited species ranged from 0.490 for L. panosi, to
0.806 for T. hellenicus (Table 1).
Discussion
The present study deals with the estimation of life his-
-
parameters estimated in this study are in accordance
with those reported from other studies in Greek and
-
ues were in accordance with the species’ maximum
reported lengths ( & 2021). The L val-
ues for A. boyeri estimated in this study were higher
than those estimated 20 years ago for the same area
while the K value was lower ( 2001). The
estimated L and K values for the same species were
lower and higher, respectively, to those reported for
Lake Iznik in Turkey ( -
noteworthy that (2001) used a trawl net
with mesh size 7 mm, (2009) a net of mesh
Figure 1
Fig. 1.
Life-history Traits for Eight Fish Species of the Largest Greek Lake (Lake Trichonis)
379
size of 5 mm and in the present study samples were
caught using an encircled net of 6 mm mesh size. The
values of L for A. boyeri were similar with those es-
timated from studies conducted in Lake Trichonis and
in the adjacent Lake Lysimachia almost two (-
2004) and four ( 1981) decades ago,
while K value estimated higher than those estimated
in the same studies. For L. albanicus the values of
Land K estimated in the present study were higher
compared to those estimated by & -
(1989) in the adjacent Kremasta Reservoir and
similar to the values estimated in Tavropos Reservoir
(located in Central Greece) during 2005–2006 (-
et al. 2006). The growth parameters estimated for
L. panosi in Lake Trichonis during 1991–1992 were
close to these estimated in the present study, whereas
& (1989) estimated lower L
and higher K values from samples caught in northern
Greece (Lake Pamvotis) during 1983–1984.
conditions, food availability and diseases (
1998). In addition, comparisons of the natural mor-
tality estimates are controversial, because they may
the ecosystem’s food web structure ( et al. 2003).
For instance, in Lake Trichonis, the natural mortal-
ity for A. boyeri
prey-predation interaction imposed to the species by
the predatory behaviour of S. acarnanicus (
& 2021b, et al. 2021).
Our estimates on life history traits can be con-
sidered to be mean annual values for the studied
-
tained throughout seasons. For A. boyeri the use of
the whole population in our estimates and reduced
the bias produced by the size-selective properties of
A.
boyeri estimated from the present study was higher
than those estimated from studies conducted in mid-
1990s ( & 2000, 2001)
(3.45 vs 1.65, respectively) revealing the highest ex-
ploitation rate of the species nowadays. Exploitation
( 1984); according to (1992), the
as A. boyeri and T. hellenicus should be maintained
at 0.4 for their optimal exploitation. In the present
study, for all the exploited species, apart for L. pan-
osi (E = 0.490), the estimated E values were greater
than the overexploited limit (= 0.50).
The mean production of A. boyeri using encir-
cled nets reached approximately 500 tons per year,
almost two decades ago and still today the species’
Fig. 2.
the studied species caught in Lake Trichonis during 2019–2020. Black points highlighted the data used for the estima-
tion of total mortality values.
380
Petriki O., Douligeri A.S., Tsionki I., Barbieri R., Moutopoulos D.K. & Stoumboudi M.T.
Table 2. Literature review of the biological parameters estimated for the studied species. Explanations of abbreviations are provided in text. Sex: C=combined, M=Male,
F=Female, Mismatches in species names are due to changes in nomenclature. L0: the theoretical age when size is
Species Area Year Sex Length
type
Lmax
(cm)
Lrange
(cm)
L∞
(cm)
K
years-1)toT (⁰C) M Z Reference
A. boyeri Lake Trichonis-Lysimachia 1992-93 C TL 4.40–10.95 11.24 0.420 -0.400 17.25 1.07 1.65 L (2001)
A. boyeri Mesolongi Etolikon lagoons 1989-90 C TL 10.95 1.30–10.30 11.24 0.420 -0.400 19.77 1.07 1.65 L & S (2000)
A. boyeri Mesolongi Etolikon lagoons 1989-90 M TL 8.31 1.30–8.31 7.50 0.670 -0.460 19.77 0.41 0.93 L & S (2000)
A. boyeri Mesolongi Etolikon lagoons 1989-90 F TL 10.30 1.30–10.30 11.99 0.230 -1.370 19.77 L & S (2000)
A. boyeri Lake Iznik 2000-01 C TL 11.50 8.00–11.50 14.11 0.270 -0.490 Ö (2009)
A. boyeri Lake Iznik 2000-01 M TL 11.00 3.00–11.00 12.11 0.330 -0.280 Ö (2009)
A. boyeri Lake Iznik 2000-01 F TL 11.50 4.20–11.5 15.53 0.210 -0.730 Ö (2009)
A. boyeri 1989-90 C TL 10.50 1.30–10.50 11.69 0.350 -0.990 17.50 0.95 1.29 K et al. (2004)
A. boyeri 1989-91 M TL 12.80 0.260 -1.640 17.60 0.76 1.54 K et al. (2004)
A. boyeri 1989-92 F TL 16.65 0.160 -1.900 17.70 0.51 0.97 K et al. (2004)
A. boyeri Lesina Lagoon 2013-14 C TL 1.50–11.0 11.10 0.680 -0.050 1.48 2.24 P et al. (2020)
L. panosi Lake Trichonis 1978-79 M FL 18.80 26.20 0.124 -1.220 D (1984)
L. panosi Lake Trichonis 1978-79 F FL 25.80 30.00 0.113 -1.040 D (1984)
L. panosi Lake Pamvotis 1983-84 C FL 20.50 20.60 0.275 -1.220 & T (1989)
L. panosi Lake Lysimachia 1991-92 C FL 25.50 11.20–25.50 29.43 0.109 -2.720 L et al. (2005)
L. panosi Lake Lysimachia 1991-92 M FL 1.22 L et al. (2005)
L. panosi Lake Lysimachia 1991-92 F FL 0.56 L et al. (2005)
L. panosi Lake Trichonis 1991-92 C FL 21.70 13.10–21.70 32.39 0.084 -3.720 L et al. (2005)
L. panosi Lake Trichonis 1991-93 M FL 0.24 L et al. (2005)
L. panosi Lake Trichonis 1991-94 F FL 0.89 L et al. (2005)
S. acarnanicus Lake Trichonis-Lysimachia 1977-79 C TL 33.00 42.60 0.134 0.055 I (1981)
S. acarnanicus Lake Trichonis-Lysimachia 1977-79 M TL 27.00 34.50 0.159 -0.155 I (1981)
S. acarnanicus Lake Trichonis-Lysimachia 1977-79 F TL 33.00 42.60 0.136 0.094 I (1981)
S. acarnanicus Lake Trichonis 1991-92 C FL 31.70 39.10 0.140 -0.099 17.25 0.80 0.80 L (2004)
S. acarnanicus Lake Trichonis 1991-92 M FL 42.84 0.125 -0.840 17.25 1.25 L (2004)
S. acarnanicus Lake Trichonis 1991-92 F FL 39.65 0.134 -1.180 17.25 0.74 L (2004)
S. acarnanicus Lake Lysimachia 1991-92 C FL 35.40 41.07 0.137 -0.67 17.25 0.40 0.51 L (2004)
S. acarnanicus Lake Lysimachia 1991-92 M FL 40.72 0.139 -0.690 17.25 0.60 L (2004)
S. acarnanicus Lake Lysimachia 1991-92 F FL 41.06 0.137 -0.660 17.25 0.34 L (2004)
L. albanicus Kremasta Reservoir 1982 M FL 20.10 25.80 0.144 -0.810 D & E (1989)
L. albanicus Kremasta Reservoir 1982 F FL 28.80 37.90 0.083 -0.900 D & E (1989)
L. albanicus Tavropos Reservoir 2005-06 C TL 37.10 14.20–37.10 47.00 0.064 -2.760 B et al. (2006)
Life-history Traits for Eight Fish Species of the Largest Greek Lake (Lake Trichonis)
381
harvesting remains the most important source of
2001).
However, a gradual decline of the species’ catches
during the last two decades was declared (
& 2021a). This could be indicative of its
stock reduction and should trigger concern regard-
ing its sustainability.
The information produced in the framework of
the present study can be used for comparison rea-
sons in future studies to reveal changes in species’
exploitation rate and can be incorporated in ecosys-
tem-based models aiming at the establishment of
management and conservation measures for both
Acknowledgements:
-
agement tools for marine and freshwater ecosystems” (MIS
5002500), funded by Greece and the European Regional De-
velopment Fund under the Operational Program “Competi-
and coordinated by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research.
dedicated to the memory of Elias Zarkadas.
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Received: 20.06.2023
Accepted: 07.11.2023
