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Review

Status of Endemic Freshwater Fish Fauna Inhabiting Major Lakes of Turkey under the Threats of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Disturbances: A Review

by
Daniela Giannetto
1,* and
Deniz Innal
2
1
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Muğla Sitki Koçman University, Muğla 48000, Turkey
2
Department of Biology, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur 15030, Turkey
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2021, 13(11), 1534; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111534
Submission received: 5 April 2021 / Revised: 26 May 2021 / Accepted: 27 May 2021 / Published: 29 May 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Human Activities and Climate Change on Freshwater Fish)
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Abstract

:
Due to its peculiar geographical position and its environmental heterogeneity, Turkey represents an important biodiversity hotspot for freshwater fish fauna. Unfortunately, native fish communities of Turkey, mainly from lentic ecosystems, have been massively altered in the past decades. Furthermore, these species, especially the endemic species, are now threatened by several human activities in addition to the global issue of climatic changes. The aim of this paper is to provide an updated review on the current status of endemic fish species from main lakes of Turkey including major threats affecting fish assemblages. By gathering data from the literature and authors’ personal observations, 62 endemic fish species were reported to occur in the considered 37 Turkish Lakes. The presence of non-native species, agriculture activities, climatic drought, and decreasing water level were found to be the threats that most affect the fish communities of the considered Turkish Lakes.

1. Introduction

Due to its crossroads location and the diversity of its geographic features and climatic conditions, Turkey hosts a very rich biodiversity. This richness is also clearly reported by the global map of biodiversity hotspots showing that 3 out of 34 world biodiversity hotspots meet in Turkey: The Mediterranean, Caucasus, and Irano-Anatolian [1]. This unique biodiversity is the result of various biogeographic factors [2] and land-use history [3] that, over the centuries, have shaped the territory. Turkey is also a core of intraspecific diversity given that during the last glacial age it served as the so-called South-Eastern refugium for several European taxa [4,5].
The Asian part of Turkey, also known as Anatolia or Asia Minor (hereinafter referred to as Anatolia), is perhaps one of the richest regions in the world in terms of lakes. The Eastern Anatolian region and north of the Taurus Mountains in the Mediterranean region, also known as the “Lakes Region”, hosts the majority of the Turkish lakes. These lakes are the remains of large inland lakes that once covered Central and Eastern Anatolia and often have distinct features deriving from their surrounding soils. For this reason, all these lakes have peculiar water features that make them worthy of worldwide interest. Among them, Lake Van is the world’s largest soda lake and also one of the largest of few endorheic lakes located in Eastern Anatolia; Lake Tuz is one of the world’s largest hypersaline lakes with a surface and water level that vary seasonally [6]. These lakes are also important wetlands providing breeding, accommodation, and wintering areas for water birds. This is because Turkey is the passage for two major bird migration routes extending from northern Europe to Africa. In more detail, among the Turkish wetland protected areas, 91 to 135 in Turkey are special areas for birds [7].
Despite this richness and these peculiarities, half of these wetland areas are currently threatened by drought. In the last 100 years, about 1.3 million hectares of Turkish wetlands have completely dried out [8]. The diminution of annual and winter precipitation occurring in Turkey (and principally in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions) in the last decades has led to a gradual degradation of soil moisture and a general decrease in the water level of the Turkish lakes [9,10]. This is mainly due to increasing temperature caused by climate change and the pressure generated by anthropogenic activities, mainly consisting of draining activities for the control of malaria or the creation of new agricultural lands [8]. Also, the alteration of water flows, water pollution, and eutrophication represent the most severe threats to Turkish wetlands [11]. In addition to these, a further degradation of these habitats derives from the overexploitation of marginal vegetation of the lakes by local communities for livestock farming [2,12]. In particular, Türkeş [13] reported that by an examination of the regional and historical changes in precipitation and drought index series in Turkey showed that extreme drought in the southeast and middle Anatolia regions is mostly due to climatic effects, whereas in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions it is principally due to anthropogenic disturbances.
The peculiar characteristics of these aquatic environments are also reflected in their fauna, which, having been isolated for very long time due to the above cited factors, have undergone an original process of speciation. As a result of this isolation, Turkish lakes host several rare species [14]. Moreover, the fauna inhabiting the lakes are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they have limited possibility to disperse in case of rapid environment changes and because, as mentioned above, they are already exposed to numerous human-induced pressures [15]. Among these human-induced threats, the presence of non-native species is reported worldwide as the second main factor threatening aquatic fauna after climate change [16]. Among the non-native species, some become invasive and are able to establish viable populations that can negatively impact the new environment [17,18]. With regard to Turkey, it is known that the composition of the fish communities of Turkish inland waters has been significantly altered in the last decades by a huge number of non-native species that have been introduced, deliberately or accidentally, into inland water, leading to alterations in ecosystem structure and impacting the abundance and composition of native communities [19]. Non-native species can cause detrimental impacts on the environment, not only indirectly because of their impacts on native fauna through predation, competition, hybridization, or disease transmission; they can also be a direct cause of habitat degradation [20,21,22,23].
Although several local studies focusing on fish species of some Turkish lakes are available in the literature, there is a lack of a comprehensive summary of the threats posed to them or the endemic fish species inhabiting these valuable ecosystems.
Thus, the aim of this study was to provide an updated review on the current status of endemic fish species from main lakes of Turkey, including the major threats affecting fish assemblages.

2. Materials and Methods

In order to create a complete and exhaustive background, the available literature and published data reported in recent international publications (papers, proceedings, and books from 1990 to 2020) were assembled and supplemented with information accessible from grey literature (theses, project reports) and personal unpublished observations of the authors.
Specifically, 37 lakes located across Turkey and chosen considering those most studied and for which information was available in literature were taken under consideration (Figure 1).
Firstly, a list of the endemic freshwater fish species occurring in the considered Turkish lakes was created taking into consideration the local endemic species (endemic only to a restricted lake or watershed) or regional endemism (species occurring only in several of the selected lakes). For each fish species, all taxonomic information follows FishBase and Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes [24,25], and its IUCN Red List Category [26] is also provided.
Thus, for each lake, a detailed list of the major threatening factors was created taking into consideration the following 14 threats organized by impact from highest to lowest: climatic drought; decreasing water level; presence of non-native species; agricultural activities; water pollution; wastewater discharge; overfishing; urbanization; presence of industrial activities; tourism activities; massive fish death; cutting/burning of the reeds; aquaculture activities; and presence of power plants.
For the threat ‘’presence of non-native species’’, specific details on the non-native species are reported for each lake. Specifically, the following categories for introduced species (non-native and translocated) were considered: Atherina boyeri Risso 1810, Carassius gibelio (Bloch 1782), Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus 1758, Esox lucius Linnaeus 1758, Gambusia holbrooki Girard 1859, Knipowitschia caucasica (Berg 1916), Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus 1758), Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum 1792), Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck & Schlegel 1846), Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus 1758), Tinca tinca (Linnaeus 1758), and other species. This last category includes some non-native and translocated species that are reported to occur only in some locations of Turkey (i.e., Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822); Coptodon rendalli (Boulenger 1897); Coptodon zillii (Gervais 1848); Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844); Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus 1758); Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus 1758 and so on).

3. Results and Discussion

Table 1 reports a summary of information about the 37 selected Turkish lakes. Together with physical characteristics (area, water depth, and elevation), information about the river basin and the lake origin is provided (Table 1).
A total of 62 freshwater fish species endemic to Turkey have been reported to occur in the 37 selected Turkish lakes (Table 2). The most represented family was Leuciscidae (26 species), followed by Aphaniidae (9), then Cyprinidae, Cobitidae, and Nemacheilidae (6 each) (Table 2).
Most of the Leuciscidae species belong to the Alburnus (9 species) and Pseudophoxinus (9 species) genera (72% in total). Alburnus was found to be very rich in Turkey, with 20 valid species reported to occur in the country [46,47]. Hrbek et al. [48] underlined the significant role of central Anatolian plate tectonic events on the diversification and phylogenetic relationships of the genus Pseudophoxinus, which is often co-distributed with Anatolichthys (Aphaniidae) in Central Anatolia. Turkey was recognized by Wildekamp [29] and Wildekamp et al. [49] as the center of diversity for the Aphanius (now Anatolichthys) genus, and Hrbek et al. [50] reported that 6 species and 4 subspecies of the 14 described occur in Anatolia [50]. Nevertheless, these populations are currently in decline due to degradation of habitats, mainly caused by excessive water use for agricultural activities and the presence of non-native species, but there is a lack of knowledge about the status of these species [51].
With regard to Cobitidae, the evolution of the Cobitis genus in Anatolia started in the Miocene and led to the formation of a large number of local lineages of this group [28]; to date, 28 species have been reported in Turkey [28], but the taxonomy of the genus is under continuous revision. Among the Nemacheilidae, Oxynoemacheilus is the largest genus and in Turkey has a great diversity, with 42 reported species from inland waters (26 endemics) [52,53,54,55]. Southwestern Anatolia is also an important biodiversity hotspot for the genus Knipowitschia (Gobiidae), with four of the five recorded species being endemic to Turkey (K. byblisia, K. caunosi, K. mermere, and K. ricasoli) and reported to occur only in isolated habitats [27,35,56] (Figure 2).
Considering the 62 endemic species listed in Table 2 according to their IUCN categories, an alarming result emerged (Figure 3).
Among the considered species, four (A. akili, A. nicaeensis, A.splendens, and P. handlirschi) are listed as Extinct according to IUCN [26]. Alburnus nicaeensis most likely became extinct due to the invasion of non-native and translocated species that were stocked into Lake Iznik to improve fishery yields [57]. Similarly, A. splendens, A. akili, and P. handlirschi are also considered extinct in lakes Gölcük, Beyşehir, and Eğirdir, respectively, given that no individuals have been found in the last decades [58,59,60]. With regard to Lake Eğirdir, several studies reported that the introduction of zander (Sander lucioperca) into the lake in 1955 caused the extinction of some endemic species [61]. Alarmingly, similar collapses of native fish stocks are also underway in Lake Beyşehir [19].
With endemic species often being restricted to only a small and isolated area, they are more sensitive to change in the environment, and threats to their habitat can lead to their disappearance. To give an example, Lake Burdur, one of the saline lakes of Central Anatolia, is known to have undergone a slow decrease in water supply, caused by massive and often uncontrolled water abstraction for agriculture purposes and the construction of dams and reservoirs. Currently, it can be reported that almost no water is left over to feed the lake (authors’ personal observation). Anatolichthys sureyanus (Figure 2) is strictly endemic to Burdur Lake and it is currently assessed as Endangered, but, given the current status of the lake, it appears that the survival of the species is at a higher risk and that the species requires detailed conservation actions. Although A. sureyanus is known to be quite tolerant of the high pollution in Lake Burdur, the species has been observed congregating close to freshwater springs where the salinity is lower, indicating that the increasing salinity of the lake is reaching levels that the species cannot tolerate. Among all the 58 remaining endemic species, 6 are listed as Critically Endangered and 20 are listed as Endangered (Figure 3). In addition, another detail worthy of concern is the high number of species in the categories Not Evaluated and Data Deficient (15 and 2, respectively) (Figure 3). This underlines the lack of information on the biology and ecology of these endemic species and the need for detailed studies to assess their conservation status.
Considering the number of endemic species reported for each lake (Table 2), Lake Beyşehir, the largest freshwater lake in Turkey and in all the Mediterranean basin, is the lake with the highest number of endemic species (13), followed by Lake Eğirdir (5 species).
Salmo abanticus is one of the Salmonidae species endemic to Turkish lakes. Although Kalayci et al. [62] reported the species as a synonym of S. trutta, the taxon is still considered as a species and listed as Vulnerable according to IUCN (2019) [63]. In Lake Abant, the population of the species declined due to the introduced O. mykiss. Currently, the population is continuously restocked in the lake for fishing purposes, but it is unknown what would happen to the population if stocking was stopped [63]. With regard to Lake Van, only two endemic species have adapted to its hypersodic waters. One of these, Alburnus tarichi (Figure 2), is a lacustrine, pelagic species that migrates about 15 km up inflowing rivers to spawn. The population has been in decline due to activities in the spawning streams, illegal fishing, habitat degradation, and wastewater pollution (from domestic and industrial sources). Currently only 12 rivers are available as spawning areas for the species; the other rivers are either too small or are blocked by weirs (with no fish passes).
In Table 3, a detailed list of the main disturbances is reported for each of the lakes studied.
In summary, all the 37 lakes showed exposure to at least five different threats. More specifically, the most disturbed lakes were Lake Seyhan Dam (11 of the 14 threats) followed by Lake Marmara, Lake Demirkopru Dam, Lake Eber, Lake Hazar, and Lake Sapanca (10 of the 14 threats each). On the contrary, those with the lowest number of reported threats (5 of 14) were Lake Kocagöz, Lake Gölcük, and Lake Manavgat Dam. Although this result could sound like good news for these last three cited lakes, it is important to take into consideration that this could also be due to a lack of specific studies focusing on these environments and not an optimistic report of their ecological integrity. Further research focusing on these lakes as well as those showing greater disturbance is therefore suggested. Another result to underline from Table 3 is that Lake Van was the only environment where no non-native species were reported. This is due, as cited above, to the peculiar chemical characteristic of the lake waters that allows the survival of only specialized fish species like A. tarichii able to adapt to this hypersodic environment.
Considering the frequencies of occurrence for the 14 examined categories of threats, climatic droughts and decreasing water level (all lakes) were the most reported disturbances, followed by presence of non-native species (36 of 37 lakes) and agricultural activities (35 of 37) (Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6).
Additionally, water pollution, mainly due to domestic and industrial discharges, appears to be quite common and can lead to massive death of fish that, unfortunately, is reported to occur periodically in Turkish lakes (Figure 6).
It is important to underline that threats often work in synergy, and this represents the real ‘’threat’’ brought about by human activities [64].
Despite the impacts on native species having been widely documented [65,66], the introduction of non-native species continues to be a common practice worldwide. With regard to Turkey, Innal and Erk’akan [67] reported that the major vectors for the introduction of non-native fishes have been government-authorized aquaculture and stocking programs to establish and support cage aquaculture and commercial fisheries. Moreover, several native species have been translocated within Turkey, although it is known that they may have exerted detrimental impacts on the native community of lake fish [67].
From the literature survey, Lake Beyşehir, Lake Eğirdir, and Lake Işıklı were those reporting greater numbers of the considered non-native and translocated species (Table 4).
In Lake Işıklı, located in Central Anatolia in the so-called ‘’Lake District’’, together with the non-native species, two translocated species, highly important for the local economy, are known to occur: E. lucius and T. tinca. However, the abundances of these two species have rapidly decreased in the last years, mostly due to the massive presence of non-native species like C. gibelio and water hyper-eutrophication [100]. Similarly, it can be reported that the massive presence of C. gibelio in other lakes of the Lake District (Beyşehir, Eğirdir, Suğla, Karataş, Gölhisar, and Kovada) is also creating a huge economic loss for local fisheries. These species are not used by local fishers as a resource, and fishers spend most of their energy and efforts removing specimens of C. gibelio from their nets without any associated economic income.
Carassius gibelio is the non-native species reported to occur in the most Turkish lakes, followed by G. holbrooki and P. parva (Figure 7).
The wide distribution of these non-native species is of great concern given that they are listed among the 100 worst non-native species in the world [101].
The issue of non-native or translocated species becomes more problematic in the case of those species like A. boyeri or C. carpio that have a considerable economic value for local fisheries. These species are commonly restocked and translocated by the local institutions in almost every natural lake and reservoir every year.
In this case, the management of these species needs to also take into account the benefit that the species can have for the local economy but always giving priority to preserving the ecological integrity of the aquatic environment for sustainable use of fisheries resources: a disturbed habitat is not able to provide a long-lived economic benefit, as happened in the cited case of Lake Işıklı. However, most of the time, these restocking practices are not supported by a solid scientific background aimed to monitor and control the ecological status of the lake or the success of these activities.

4. Conclusions

Many lakes in Turkey have shrunk considerably over recent years, mainly due to increasing drought and increased ground-water abstraction, leading to profound implications for the whole aquatic ecosystem. The results reported in this study confirm these trends and represent an important point to consider for the future management of these environments.
Forecasted future climatic changes added to the above cited anthropogenic disturbances and changes in land-use would also make the existing conditions progressively worse. Thus, decisions for dealing with the negative impacts of climate change on water resources should include efficient management of existing water and land with forecasting systems to avoid droughts and soil erosion, but also taking into consideration the management of non-native species, which are currently the main reported disturbance in Turkish lakes.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, D.G. and D.I.; methodology, D.G. and D.I.; data curation, D.G. and D.I.; writing—original draft preparation, D.G. and D.I.; writing—review and editing, D.G. and D.I. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

In this section, you can acknowledge any support given which is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support, or donations in kind (e.g., materials used for experiments).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Map reporting the locations * of the 37 lakes in Turkey considered in the study, together with their river systems (*: 1—Lake Durusu, 2—Lake Sapanca, 3—Lake Abant, 4—Lake Iznik, 5—Lake Apolyont (Uluabat), 6—Lake Manyas, 7—Dam Lake Enne, 8—Dam Lake Demirköprü, 9—Lake Marmara, 10—Lake Kocagöz, 11—Lake Köyceğiz, 12—Dam Lake Yapraklı, 13—Lake Gölhisar, 14—Lake Yarışlı, 15—Lake Salda, 16—Lake Işıklı, 17—Lake Acıgöl, 18—Lake Burdur, 19—Lake Gölcük, 20—Dam Lake Onaç, 21—Lake Kırkgöz, 22—Lake Yamansaz, 23—Dam Lake Manavgat, 24—Lake Eğirdir, 25—LakeEber, 26—Lake Akşehir, 27—Lake Beyşehir, 28—Lake Suğla, 29—Lake Altınapa, 30—Dam Lake Hirfanlı, 31—Marshes Sultan, 32—Dam Lake Seyhan, 33—Lake Gölbaşı, 34—Dam Lake Almus, 35—Lake Hazar, 36—Lake Nazik, 37—Lake Van).
Figure 1. Map reporting the locations * of the 37 lakes in Turkey considered in the study, together with their river systems (*: 1—Lake Durusu, 2—Lake Sapanca, 3—Lake Abant, 4—Lake Iznik, 5—Lake Apolyont (Uluabat), 6—Lake Manyas, 7—Dam Lake Enne, 8—Dam Lake Demirköprü, 9—Lake Marmara, 10—Lake Kocagöz, 11—Lake Köyceğiz, 12—Dam Lake Yapraklı, 13—Lake Gölhisar, 14—Lake Yarışlı, 15—Lake Salda, 16—Lake Işıklı, 17—Lake Acıgöl, 18—Lake Burdur, 19—Lake Gölcük, 20—Dam Lake Onaç, 21—Lake Kırkgöz, 22—Lake Yamansaz, 23—Dam Lake Manavgat, 24—Lake Eğirdir, 25—LakeEber, 26—Lake Akşehir, 27—Lake Beyşehir, 28—Lake Suğla, 29—Lake Altınapa, 30—Dam Lake Hirfanlı, 31—Marshes Sultan, 32—Dam Lake Seyhan, 33—Lake Gölbaşı, 34—Dam Lake Almus, 35—Lake Hazar, 36—Lake Nazik, 37—Lake Van).
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Figure 2. Pictures of some representative species endemic to Turkey: 1: Pseudophoxinus alii; 2: Aphanius transgrediens; 3: A. sureyanus; 4: Alburnus tarichi. (Original photos by Deniz Innal.)
Figure 2. Pictures of some representative species endemic to Turkey: 1: Pseudophoxinus alii; 2: Aphanius transgrediens; 3: A. sureyanus; 4: Alburnus tarichi. (Original photos by Deniz Innal.)
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Figure 3. Number of species endemic to Turkish lakes listed in the categories of IUCN (2020) [26].
Figure 3. Number of species endemic to Turkish lakes listed in the categories of IUCN (2020) [26].
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Figure 4. Frequencies of occurrence of the 14 main threats in the examined Turkish lakes.
Figure 4. Frequencies of occurrence of the 14 main threats in the examined Turkish lakes.
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Figure 5. Satellite images from Google Earth showing the trend of water level decrease in the last decades in some Turkish lakes.
Figure 5. Satellite images from Google Earth showing the trend of water level decrease in the last decades in some Turkish lakes.
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Figure 6. Pictures reporting some threats in the considered Turkish lakes: 1: Presence of non-native species in Lake Beyşehir; 2: Massive fish death in Lake Onaç Dam; 3: Water extraction for agricultural activities; 4: Tourism activities in Lake Salda.
Figure 6. Pictures reporting some threats in the considered Turkish lakes: 1: Presence of non-native species in Lake Beyşehir; 2: Massive fish death in Lake Onaç Dam; 3: Water extraction for agricultural activities; 4: Tourism activities in Lake Salda.
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Figure 7. Frequencies of occurrence of the main non-native and translocated species in the examined Turkish lakes.
Figure 7. Frequencies of occurrence of the main non-native and translocated species in the examined Turkish lakes.
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Table
Table 1. Details of physical characteristics (area, water depth, elevation), the river basin, and the origin for each of the 37 considered Turkish lakes (N: lake number in Figure 1 from west to east).
Table 1. Details of physical characteristics (area, water depth, elevation), the river basin, and the origin for each of the 37 considered Turkish lakes (N: lake number in Figure 1 from west to east).
LakeNRiver BasinArea (km2)Height from Sea (Altitude) (m)Maximum Depth (m)Origin
Abant3Western Black Sea1.28133518Landslide Set
Acıgöl17Burdur (Closed)928442Tectonic
Aksehir26Akarçay1029584Tectonic
Almus Dam29Yeşilırmak31.381775Artificial
Altınapa Dam5Konya (Closed)2.20125730Artificial
Apolyont27Susurluk135610Tectonic
Beyşehir18Konya (Closed)656112510Tectonic–Karstic
Burdur34Burdur (Closed)15084561Tectonic
Demirkopru Dam 8Gediz47.723850Artificial
Durusu Dam1Marmara30.423.4 (mean)Coastal set–artificial
Eber25Akarçay1209676Tectonic
Eğirdir24Antalya47091613Tectonic–Karstic
Enne Dam7Sakarya0.94100122Artificial
Gölbasi33Ceyhan2.1988022Tectonic–Karstic
Gölcük19Antalya1136041Volcanic
Gölhisar13Western Mediterranean494610Karstic
Hazar35Fırat Dicle861248210Tectonic
Hirfanlı Dam30Kızılırmak26387040Artificial
Işıklı16Büyük Menderes658158Tectonic
Iznik4Marmara2988565Tectonic
Kırkgöz21Antalya<23022Karstic
Kocagöz10Küçük Menderes<187Tectonic–Alluvial Set
Köyceğiz11Western Mediterranean52830Alluvial Set
Manavgat Dam23Antalya8.65830Artificial
Manyas6Susurluk161175Tectonic
Marmara9Gediz41717Alluvial Set
Nazik31Van (Closed)45181648Lava Set
Onaç Dam36Antalya3.5683821Artificial
Salda20Burdur (Closed)431140180Tectonic
Sapanca15Sakarya473461Alluvial Set
Seyhan Dam2Seyhan67.81045Artificial
Suğla32Konya (Closed)4010902Tectonic–Karstic
Sultan Marshes28Kızırmak20010702Tectonic
Van37Van (Closed)37131646451Volcanic–Lava Set
Yamansaz22Antalya1125Karstic
Yapraklı Dam12Western Mediterranean6.51070>20Artificial
Yarışlı14Burdur (Closed) 149122Tectonic
Table
Table 2. List of the freshwater fish species endemic to Turkey reported 1 to occur in the main lakes of Turkey (N: lake number in Figure 1 from West to East; IUCN: IUCN category according to [26]; Endemism: LE: local endemic, RE: regional endemic).
Table 2. List of the freshwater fish species endemic to Turkey reported 1 to occur in the main lakes of Turkey (N: lake number in Figure 1 from West to East; IUCN: IUCN category according to [26]; Endemism: LE: local endemic, RE: regional endemic).
LakeNFamilySpeciesEnglish Common NameIUCNEndemism
Abant3SalmonidaeSalmo abanticus Tortonese, 1954Abant troutNELE
Acıgöl17AphaniidaeAnatolichthys transgrediens (Ermin 1946)Acipinar killifishCRLE
CobitidaeCobitis phrygica Battalgil 1944Aci spined loachNERE
Aksehir26GobionidaeGobio intermedius Battalgil, 1944Eber gudgeonENRE
LeuciscidaeSqualius recurvirostris Özulug & Freyhof, 2011Akşehir chubVURE
Almus Dam34CyprinidaeBarbus anatolicus Turan, Kaya, Geiger & Freyhof, 2018-DDRE
Altınapa Dam29LeuciscidaeSqualius anatolicus (Bogutskaya, 1997)Beysehir daceLCRE
Apolyont5ClupeidaeClupeonella muhlisi Neu, 1934Apolyont spratNERE
LeuciscidaeAlburnus carinatus Battalgil, 1941Manyas shemayaENRE
Beysehir27AphaniidaeAnatolichthys iconii (Akşiray 1948)Konya killifishNERE
CobitidaeCobitis battalgilae Bacescu, 1962Battalgil spined loachENRE
Cobitis bilseli Battalgil, 1942Beysehir spined loachENLE
CyprinidaeCapoeta mauricii Küçük, Turan, Şahin & Gülle, 2009Longsnout scraperENRE
Garra kemali (Hankó, 1925)Ereğli minnowENRE
GobionidaeGobio microlepidotus Battalgil, 1942Beyşehir gudgeonVURE
LeuciscidaeAlburnus akili Battalgil, 1942Beysehir bleakEXLE
Chondrostoma beysehirense Bogutskaya, 1997Beysehir naseENRE
Pseudophoxinus anatolicus (Hankó, 1925)Anatolian minnowENRE
Pseudophoxinus battalgilae Bogutskaya, 1997Beysehir minnowNERE
Pseudophoxinus hittitorum Freyhof & Özulug, 2010Hittitic spring minnowENRE
Squalius anatolicus (Bogutskaya, 1997)Beysehir daceLCRE
NemacheilidaeOxynoemacheilus atili Erk’akan, 2012Beysehir loachNTRE
Burdur18AphaniidaeAnatolichthys sureyanus (Ney 1937)Sureyan killifishENLE
Demirköprü Dam 8GobiidaeKnipowitschia mermere Ahnelt, 1995Marmara gobyVURE
Durusu 1LeuciscidaeAlburnus istanbulensis Battalgil 1941Thracian shemayaLCRE
Eber25LeuciscidaeSqualius recurvirostris Özulug & Freyhof, 2011Akşehir chubVURE
NemacheilidaeSeminemacheilus lendlii (Hankó, 1925)Anatolian loachVURE
Eğirdir24AphaniidaeAnatolichthys iconii (Akşiray 1948)Konya killifishNERE
CyprinidaeGarra klatti (Kosswig 1950)Isparta minnowENRE
Capoeta pestai (Pietschmann, 1933)Egirdir barbCRRE
LeuciscidaePseudophoxinus egridiri (Karaman, 1972)Egirdir minnowENLE
Pseudophoxinus handlirschi (Pietschmann, 1933)Handlirsch’s minnowEXLE
Enne Dam7LeuciscidaeAlburnus escherichii Steindachner, 1897Caucasian bleakLCRE
Gölbasi 33CobitidaeCobitis erkakanae Freyhof, Bayçelebi & Geiger, 2018Gölbasi spined loachNERE
Gölcük19AphaniidaeAnatolichthys splendens Kosswig & Sözer 1945Splendid killifishEXLE
CyprinidaeGarra klatti (Kosswig 1950)Isparta minnowENRE
Gölhisar 13LeuciscidaeScardinius elmaliensis Bogutskaya, 1997Antalya ruddENRE
Hazar35AphaniidaeKosswigichthys asquamatus Sözer 1942Scaleless killifishLCLE
LeuciscidaeAlburnus heckeli Battalgil, 1944Hazar bleakLCLE
NemacheilidaeOxynoemacheilus hazarensis Freyhof & Özulug, 2017Hazar loachNELE
Hirfanlı Dam30AphaniidaeAnatolichthys danfordii (Boulenger 1890)Danford’s killifishCRRE
Işıklı16GobionidaeGobio maeandricus Naseka, Erk’akan & Küçük, 2006Işıklı gudgeonENRE
LeuciscidaeSqualius carinus Özulug & Freyhof, 2011Chocolate chubENLE
Iznik 4LeuciscidaeAlburnus nicaeensis Battalgil, 1941Iznik shemayaEXLE
Kırkgöz 21AphaniidaeParaphanius mentoides (Akşiray, 1948)-NERE
Kocagöz 10GobiidaeKnipowitschia ricasolii (Di Caporiacco 1935)Ephesus gobyCRRE
Köyceğiz11GobiidaeKnipowitschia byblisia Ahnelt, 2011Byblis gobyLCRE
Knipowitschia caunosi Ahnelt, 2011Caunos gobyLCLE
Manavgat Dam23LeuciscidaeAlburnus baliki Bogutskaya, Küçük & Ünlü, 2000Antalya bleakENRE
Manyas6LeuciscidaeAlburnus carinatus Battalgil, 1941Manyas shemayaENRE
LeuciscidaeAlburnoides manyasensis Turan, Ekmekçi, Kaya & Güçlü, 2013Manyas spirlinLCLE
Marmara 9GobiidaeKnipowitschia mermere Ahnelt, 1995Marmara gobyVURE
Marsh Sultan31CobitidaeCobitis joergbohleni Freyhof, Bayçelebi & Geiger, 2018Sultan spined loachNELE
LeuciscidaePseudophoxinus elizavetae Bogutskaya, Küçük & Atalay, 2006Sultan Sazligi minnowCRRE
NemacheilidaeOxynoemacheilus ciceki Sungur, Eagderi & Jalili, 2017LoachNELE
Seminemacheilus ahmeti Sungur, Jalili, Eagderi & Çiçek, 2018Sultan crested loachNELE
Nazık36CyprinidaeCapoeta kosswigi Karaman, 1969Van barbDDRE
LeuciscidaeAlburnus tarichi (Güldenstädt, 1814)Van bleakNTRE
NemacheilidaeOxynoemacheilus ercisianus (Erk’akan & Kuru, 1986)Van loachENRE
Onaç Dam20LeuciscidaePseudophoxinus ninae Freyhof & Özulug, 2006Onaç spring minnowCRRE
Salda watersheds15AphaniidaeAnatolichthys fontinalis (Akşiray 1948)Burdur killifishNERE
Anatolichthys saldae (Akşiray 1955)Salda killifishNELE
CobitidaeCobitis phrygica Battalgazi, 1944Aci spined loachNERE
LeuciscidaePseudophoxinus burduricus Küçük, Gülle, Güçlü, Çiftçi & Erdogan, 2013Burdur spring minnowENRE
Squalius fellowesii (Günther, 1868)Aegean chubLCRE
Sapanca2CobitidaeCobitis emrei Freyhof, Bayçelebi & Geiger, 2018Sapanca spined loachNELE
Seyhan Dam32LeuciscidaeChondrostoma ceyhanensis Küçük, Turan, Güçlü, Mutlu & Çiftçi, 2017Ceyhan NaseNERE
Suğla28CobitidaeCobitis battalgilae Bacescu, 1962Battalgil spined loachENRE
LeuciscidaePseudophoxinus anatolicus (Hankó, 1925)Anatolian minnowENRE
Pseudophoxinus battalgilae Bogutskaya, 1998Beysehir minnowNERE
Van37LeuciscidaeAlburnus tarichi (Güldenstädt, 1814)Van bleakNTRE
NemacheilidaeOxynoemacheilus ercisianus (Erk’akan & Kuru, 1986)Van loachENRE
Yamansaz22LeuciscidaePseudophoxinus alii Küçük, 2007Pamphylian spring minnowENRE
Yapraklı Dam12LeuciscidaeAlburnus carianorum Freyhof, Kaya, Bayçelebi, Geiger & Turan, 2018-ENRE
Yarışlı14AphaniidaeAnatolichthys fontinalis (Akşiray 1948)Burdur killifishNERE
1 main references: [25,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46].
Table
Table 3. List of the main threats reported to occur in the main lakes of Turkey (N: lake number in Figure 1 from west to east).
Table 3. List of the main threats reported to occur in the main lakes of Turkey (N: lake number in Figure 1 from west to east).
LakeNMain Threats
Climatic DroughtDecreasing Water LevelPresence of Non-Native SpeciesAgricultural ActivitiesWater PollutionWastewater DischargeOverfishingUrbanizationPresence of Industrial ActivitiesTourism ActivitiesMassive Fish DeathCutting/Burning of The ReedsAquaculture ActivitiesPresence of Power PlantsNumber of Threats Per Lake
Abant3 6
Acıgöl17 8
Aksehir26 9
Almus Dam29 9
Altınapa Dam5 7
Apolyont27 9
Beyşehir18 9
Burdur34 9
Demirkopru Dam8 10
Durusu1 7
Eber25 10
Eğirdir24 8
Enne Dam7 6
Gölbasi33 8
Gölcük19 6
Gölhisar13 7
Hazar35 10
Hirfanlı Dam30 9
Işıklı16 7
Iznik4 9
Kırkgöz21 8
Kocagöz10 5
Köyceğiz11 9
Manavgat Dam23 5
Manyas6 8
Marmara9 10
Nazık31 7
Onaç Dam36 8
Salda20 7
Sapanca15 10
Seyhan Dam2 11
Suğla32 8
Sultan Marshes28 7
Van37 6
Yamansaz22 8
Yapraklı Dam12 7
Yarışlı14 6
Table
Table 4. Occurrence of the main introduced (non-native and translocated) species reported * in Turkey in the examined lakes.
Table 4. Occurrence of the main introduced (non-native and translocated) species reported * in Turkey in the examined lakes.
LakeIntroduced (Non-Native and Translocated) Species
Atherina boyeriCarassius gibelioCyprinus carpioEsox cuciusGambusia coolbrokiKnipowitschia caucasicaLepomis cibbosusOncorhynchus cykissPseudorosbora parvaSander luciopercaTinca TincaOther Species
Abant
Acıgöl
Aksehir
Almus Dam
Altınapa Dam
Apolyont
Beyşehir
Burdur
Demirkopru Dam
Eber
Eğirdir
Enne Dam
Gölbasi
Gölcük
Gölhisar
Hazar
Hirfanlı Dam
Işıklı
Iznik
Kırkgöz
Kocagöz
Köyceğiz
Manavgat Dam
Manyas
Marmara
Nazik
Onaç Dam
Salda
Sapanca
Seyhan Dam
Suğla
Sultan Marshes
Van
Yamansaz
Yapraklı Dam
Yarışlı
*: main references: [45,51,66,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99].
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Giannetto, D.; Innal, D. Status of Endemic Freshwater Fish Fauna Inhabiting Major Lakes of Turkey under the Threats of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Disturbances: A Review. Water 2021, 13, 1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111534

AMA Style

Giannetto D, Innal D. Status of Endemic Freshwater Fish Fauna Inhabiting Major Lakes of Turkey under the Threats of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Disturbances: A Review. Water. 2021; 13(11):1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111534

Chicago/Turabian Style

Giannetto, Daniela, and Deniz Innal. 2021. "Status of Endemic Freshwater Fish Fauna Inhabiting Major Lakes of Turkey under the Threats of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Disturbances: A Review" Water 13, no. 11: 1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111534

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