Fish movements: the introduction pathway for topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva and other non-native fishes in the UK

Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre

MDFRC item.

1. The contamination of fish consignments (for stocking or aquaculture) is a major pathway by which non-native organisms, including fish, are introduced to new areas. One of the best examples of this is the topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, which was accidentally imported into Romania and then throughout Europe in consignments of Asian carp species. 2. The introduction and spread of topmouth gudgeon in the UK has been linked to imports and movements of the ornamental variety (golden orfe) of ide Leuciscus idus. To examine this hypothesis, relationships between authorized movements of both native and non-native fish species (in particular ide) and the occurrence in England of topmouth gudgeon were tested at the 10 x 10 km scale. 3. Topmouth gudgeon occurrence in the wild was significantly correlated with the trajectories of movements of ornamental fish species (ide/orfe, sunbleak Leucaspius delineatus) as well as a few non-ornamental fish species (European catfish Silurus glanis, Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella). 4. These results highlight the mechanism by which non-native fish species disperse from the point of first introduction, and especially that movements of fish within the country represent an important mechanism for accidental introductions of non-native species.