Abstract
One of the major causes of biodiversity loss in freshwater ecosystems is the introduction of alien species. The common carp has been established in every freshwater ecosystem of Pakistan and is a leading threat to the native ichthyofauna. In the present study, stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon (δ15N and δ13C) are used to explore the feeding niche overlap among alien Cyprinus carpio (common carp) and native omnivorous fishes including Tor putitora (mahseer) and Barilius pakistanicus (Pakistani chalwa) from Swat River, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Differences in mean values of δ15N and δ13C among the species were found non-significant. Community-wide metrics within δ13C-δ15N bi-plot space reflecting vital aspects of the trophic structure were also calculated. It was found that all the selected species were feeding at the same trophic level, whereas niche size and trophic diversity of common carp was greater compared to both of the native species which indicated that this alien fish is a highly opportunistic feeder on different food items with multiple basal resources having a wide range of δ13C values. Mahseer occupied a very small trophic niche within the niche space of common carp. This shows that mahseer is relatively a specialist feeder on fewer food sources; hence, mahseer might be subjected to the higher threat posed by the alien species. The trophic niche area of Pakistani chalwa was also smaller than common carp but wider than mahseer indicating a relatively lower degree of overlap with common carp.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the PINSTECH laboratories, Islamabad, for the analysis of samples. The authors are really thankful to the two anonymous reviewers, Advisory Editor, and Editor in Chief for their keen review, guidance, and helpful comments.
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This research work is funded by the University of the Punjab, vide grant number. D/6/26/Est. 1 awarded to Dr. Abdul Majid Khan.
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AS, AMK, MTW, and MI conceived the idea. AS, MI, GS, MTW, and RMA contributed in sample preparation for the stable isotope analysis and drafted the manuscript. MI and MTW reviewed and revised the manuscript. AMK supervised the designed study.
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Said, A., Imran, M., Waseem, M.T. et al. Feeding niche overlap between native and alien fishes in Swat River, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Environ Biol Fish 105, 509–518 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01254-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01254-4