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Comparative study of the reproductive biology of two congeneric and introduced goby species: implications for management strategies

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Abstract

A full understanding of life history characteristics of invasive species is a fundamental prerequisite for the development of management strategies. Two introduced goby species (Rhinogobius cliffordpopei and Rhinogobius giurinus) have established highly abundant populations in Lake Erhai (China). In the present study, we examined the reproductive biology of these two species with the aim of improving the efficiency of management strategy. The results indicated that R. cliffordpopei spawned from February to June, whereas R. giurinus spawned from April to August. Rhinogobius cliffordpopei showed higher gonado-somatic indices and had larger eggs than R. giurinus. The adult sex ratio of R. cliffordpopei was female skewed, but that of R. giurinus was equal. Rhinogobius cliffordpopei showed a male-skewed sexual size dimorphism, whereas the body size of R. giurinus varied only slightly between males and females. The different reproductive traits appear as a crucial biologic aspect for developing control programs. Specifically, control measures should be implemented and/or intensified from September to February for R. cliffordpopei and from January to April for R. giurinus. The body size of the smaller R. cliffordpopei females is the determinant for minimal mesh size of the nets used in physical removals of R. cliffordpopei.

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Acknowledgments

The research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31172387), the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment of China (No. 2012ZX07105-004), and National S&T Supporting Program (No. 2012BAD25B08). We are extremely grateful to three anonymous reviewers for insightful comments, to T. Pool for editorial improvements, and to X. Chen for technical assistance. ZG, JC, and SL are members of the lab EDB, part of the “Laboratoire d’Excellence (LABEX) entitled TULIP (ANR-10-LABX-41).”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Zhiqiang Guo, Sovan Lek, Zhongjie Li, Fengyue Zhu, Jianfeng Tang & Jiashou Liu

  2. CNRS, UPS, ENFA, UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique), 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Zhiqiang Guo, Julien Cucherousset & Sovan Lek

  3. Université de Toulouse, UPS, UMR5174 EDB, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Zhiqiang Guo, Julien Cucherousset & Sovan Lek

  4. Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Zhiqiang Guo, Fengyue Zhu & Jianfeng Tang

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  1. Zhiqiang Guo
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  2. Julien Cucherousset
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  3. Sovan Lek
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  4. Zhongjie Li
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  7. Jiashou Liu
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Correspondence to Jiashou Liu.

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Handling editor: Katya E. Kovalenko

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Guo, Z., Cucherousset, J., Lek, S. et al. Comparative study of the reproductive biology of two congeneric and introduced goby species: implications for management strategies. Hydrobiologia 709, 89–99 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1439-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1439-8

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