Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

River fish assemblages along an elevation gradient in the eastern extremity of Europe

  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Studies on assemblages of freshwater fishes along elevational gradients of rivers are lacking, even in Europe. In this paper we have explored the entire range of elevational gradients existing in the European part of Russia. We analyzed how fish biodiversity (species richness, abundance, diversity indices) at 435 river sites differed by elevation. The impact of elevation on the distribution of freshwater fish species was analyzed using regression and ordination methods. For the first time for a large area of Eastern Europe, optimum points and niche breadth for fish species along altitude gradients were estimated. Our analyses showed: (1) species richness and Shannon index decreased in the upper part of the gradient; fish abundance showed a unimodal response to elevation; highest numbers were found at elevations between 250 and 500 m; (2) ordination analysis demonstrated an upstream-downstream gradient of the fish assemblages; (3) regression analysis showed significant preferences for elevation by 19 species, all of which were monotonic; (4) optimum and niche breadth (tolerance) were highly variable between species; only five species (brown trout, grayling, common minnow, bullhead and stone loach) were encountered at elevations above 650 m; and (5) in our region, the habitat of grayling was higher in the mountains, and its abundance (numbers) at extreme elevations was greater, than brown trout. These results show how fish assemblages differ with elevation. Our findings identify the data that can be used for regional environmental monitoring of the state of small rivers and for aquatic conservation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Askeyev A, Monakhov S, Askeyev I, Askeyev O (2014) Rare and endangered fish species distribution in relation to environmental gradients, Tatartstan Republic, Russia. Proceedings of Scientific Works of Institute of Problems Ecology and Mineral Wealth, Kazan, pp 3–15

  • Askeyev O, Askeyev I, Askeyev A, Monakhov S, Yanybaev N (2015) River fish assemblages in relation to environmental factors in the eastern extremity of Europe (Tatarstan Republic, Russia). Environ Biol Fish 98:1277–1293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belliard J, Boet P, Tales E (1997) Regional and longitudinal patterns of fish community structure in the Seine River basin, France. Environ Biol Fish 50:13–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergerot B, Lasne E, Vigneron T, Laffaille P (2008) Prioritization of fish assemblages with a view to conservation and restoration on a large scale European basin, the Loire (France). Biodivers Conserv 17:2247–2262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhatt JP, Manish K, Pandit MK (2012) Elevational gradients in fish diversity in the Himalaya: water discharge is the key driver of distribution patterns. PLoS One 7(9):e46237

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Birzaks J (2012) Occurrence, abundance and biomass of fish in rivers of Latvia in accordance with river typology. Zoology and Ecology 22(1):9–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak CJF, van Dam H (1989) Inferring pH from diatoms: a comparison of old and new calibration methods. Hydrobiologia 178:209–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buisson L, Blanc L, Grenouillet G (2008) Modelling stream fish species distribution in a river network: the relative effects of temperature versus physical factors. Ecol Freshw Fish 17:244–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell Grant EH, Lowe WH, Fagan WF (2007) Living in the branches: population dynamics and ecological processes in dendritic networks. Ecol Lett 10:165–175

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carvajal-Quintero JD, Escobar F, Alvarado F, Villa-Navarro FA, Jaramillo-Villa Ú, Maldonado-Ocampo JA (2015) Variation in freshwater fish assemblages along a regional elevation gradient in the northern Andes, Colombia. Ecology and Evolution 5(13):2608–2620

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dias MS, Cornu JF, Oberdorff T, Lasso CA, Tedesco PA (2013) Natural fragmentation in river networks as a driver of speciation for freshwater fishes. Ecography 36:683–689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faith DP, Minchin PR, Belbin L (1987) Compositional dissimilarity as a robust measure of ecological distance. Vegetatio 69:57–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAME CONSORTIUM (2004) Manual for the application of the European Fish Index - EFI. A fish-based method to assess the ecological status of European rivers in support of the Water Framework Directive. Version 1.1, January 2005

  • Finn DS, Bonada N, Murria C, Hughes JM (2011) Small but mighty: headwaters are vital to stream network biodiversity at two levels of organization. J N Am Benthol Soc 30:963–980

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu C, Wu J, Wang X, Lei G, Chen J (2004) Patterns of diversity, altitudinal range and body size among freshwater fishes in the Yangtze River Basin, China. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 13:543–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grenouillet G, Pont D, Hérissé C (2004) Within-basin fish assemblage structure: the relative influence of habitat versus stream spatial position on local species richness. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 61:93–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grenouillet G, Roset N, Goffaux G, Breine J, Simoens I, Deleeuw J, Kestemont P (2007) Fish assemblages in European western highlands and Western Plains: a type-specific approach to assess ecological quality of running waters. Fish Manag Ecol 14:509–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer O, Harper DAT, Ryan PD (2001) PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electron 4:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Huet M (1959) Profiles and biology of western European streams as related to fisheries management. Trans Am Fish Soc 88:155–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humpl M (2006) Relating fish assemblage variability to environmental gradients in small and mid-sized streams of the Elbe basin (Czech Republic). Electronic Journal of Ichthyology 1:15–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaramillo-Villa U, Maldonado-Ocampo JA, Escobar F (2010) Altitudinal variation in fish assemblage diversity in streams of the Central Andes of Colombia. J Fish Biol 76:2401–2417

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaimov MG (2013) Ecology and biological features of brown trout (Salmo trutta morpha fario (Linnaeus, 1758) and (Salmo trutta ezenami. Berg, 1948) in Terek-Caspian region. Dissertation, Dagestan State University

  • Li J, He Q, Hua X, Zhou J, Xu H, Chen J, Fu C (2009) Climate and history explain the species richness peak at mid-elevation for Schizothorax fishes (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) distributed in the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 18:264–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logez M, Bady P, Pont D (2012) Modelling the habitat requirement of riverine fish species at the European scale: sensitivity to temperature and precipitation and associated uncertainty. Ecol Freshw Fish 21:266–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews WJ (1998) Patterns in freshwater fish ecology. Chapman and Hall, Norwell, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Oberdorff T, Lek S, Guegan JF (1999) Patterns of endemism in riverine fish of the northern hemisphere. Ecol Lett 2:75–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oberdorff T, Pont D, Hugueny B, Chessel D (2001) A probabilistic model characterizing fish assemblages of French rivers: a framework for environmental assessment. Freshw Biol 46:399–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pont D, Hugueny B, Oberdorff T (2005) Modelling habitat requirement of European fishes: do species have similar responses to local and regional environmental constraints? Can J Fish Aquat Sci 62:163–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapoport EH (1982) Areography: geographical strategies of species (English edition translated by Drausal B). Pergamon Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Reyjol Y, Hugueny B, Pont D, Bianco PG, Beier U, Caiola N, Casals F, Cowx I, Economou A, Ferreira T, Haidvogl G, Noble R, De Sostoa A, Vigneron T, Virbickas T (2007) Patterns in species richness and endemism of European freshwater fish. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 16:65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson JL, Rand PS (2005) Discontinuity in fish assemblages across an elevation gradient in a southern Appalachian watershed, USA. Ecol Freshw Fish 14:14–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders NJ, Rahbek C (2011) The patterns and causes of elevational diversity gradients. Ecography 35:1–3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon AL (1968) Species diversity and longitudinal succession in stream fishes. Ecology 49:193–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens GC (1992) The elevational gradient in altitudinal range, an extension of Rapoport’s atitudinal rule to altitude. Am Nat 140:893–911

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tedesco PA, Leprieur F, Hugueny B, Brosse S, Durr HH, Beauchard O et al (2012) Patterns and processes of global freshwater fish endemism. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 21:977–987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vannote RL, Minshall GW, Cummins KW, Sedell JR, Cushing CE (1980) The river continuum concept. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 37:130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verneaux J (1977) Biotypologie de l’écosystème “eau courante”. Détermination approchée de l’appartenance typologique d’un peuplement ichtyologique. C R Acad Sci (Life Sciences) 284:675–678

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Tim Sparks for revising the English of the early drafts of the manuscript. Our special thanks go to Vasilya Yanybaeva, the Director of Bashkir Nature Reserve and Rifgat Shagidullin, the Director of the Institute of Problems in Ecology and Mineral Wealth, for their irrepressible support during the field surveys.

We declare that the fish were caught under a survey permit of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomonitoring Laboratory, Institute of Problems in Ecology and Mineral Wealth, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Daurskaya str., 28, Kazan, 420087, Tatarstan Republic, Russia

    Arthur Askeyev, Oleg Askeyev, Igor Askeyev & Sergey Monakhov

  2. Bashkir State Nature Reserve, Starosubhangulovo, Bashkortostan Republic, Russia

    Nur Yanybaev

  3. Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia

    Saša Marić

  4. Environmental Futures Research Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia

    Kees Hulsman

Authors
  1. Arthur Askeyev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Oleg Askeyev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nur Yanybaev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Igor Askeyev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sergey Monakhov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Saša Marić
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Kees Hulsman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oleg Askeyev.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Askeyev, A., Askeyev, O., Yanybaev, N. et al. River fish assemblages along an elevation gradient in the eastern extremity of Europe. Environ Biol Fish 100, 585–596 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0588-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0588-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation