Legislative Approach in Managing Environment Pollution by Alien Fish Species in Malaysia

River pollution has been a major problem in Malaysia and significantly affects the environment. One of the contributing issues would be the spread of invasive alien fish species that has given negative impacts on the environment and ecological disaster, the human health, harming the native animals and plants, as well the economy. Based on the National Committee on Invasive Alien Species Report in 2018, that 46 invasive alien species from a total of 130 species in the established main invasive alien species lists in Malaysia. The alien fishes have been known to make their presence in our dams, lakes and rivers but not much attention has been paid to their existence. Based on these facts, it is proven that the issue poses a significant risk hence an urgent attention is required in managing this pollution through proactive legal measures to enforce strictly the existing law so as to prevent the halt of the spread of invasive species. A legal doctrinal and non-doctrinal modes of research are used to examine and review on the existing laws and/or policy governing this issue. This research will help to provide reference and strategic planning via legal approach for better controlling the invasion in our Malaysian waters.

Universal Set of Primers for DNA Identification of Alien Fish Species in Central Russia (Volga-Kama Region)

Reliable species identification is critical for detection and monitoring of biological invasions. In this study, we propose four sets of primers for efficient amplification of several loci, including the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase-c (COI) subunit I gene which is a basis for DNA barcoding. This set of primers gives a shorter product which can be used in high-throughput sequencing systems for metabarcoding purposes. Another mitochondrial locus encoding the large ribosomal subunit (16S) may be useful to study the population structure and as an additional source of information in the metabarcoding of communities. We propose to use a set of primers for the nuclear locus of the small ribosomal subunit (18S) as a positive control and to verify the results of the barcoding. Our proposed sets of primers demonstrate a high amplification efficiency and a high specificity both for freshwater alien and indigenous fishes. The proposed research design makes it possible to carry out extremely cheap studies on the assessment of biological diversity using genetic analysis without expensive equipment, and with the technique for conducting laboratory work and processing of the results available to any researcher. The paper also presents original data on the genetic polymorphism of all mass alien fish species in the Volga-Kama region. High efficiency of DNA identification based on our primers is shown as compared to traditional monitoring of biological invasions.

Alien fish, amphibian and reptile species in Romania and their invasive status: a review with new data

The paper presents a review of literature data, supplemented with original observations, on the presence, establishment, distribution and invasive status of alien fish, amphibian and reptile species in Romania. Consistent criteria were followed in defining alien species records, establishment and invasive status. From the 48 alien fish species, 1 fish hybrid, 1 amphibian and 18 reptile species recorded, only 16 fishes and 3 reptiles can be regarded as established. Of these we consider the criteria for invasive status as being probably fulfilled by one fish species (Perccottus glenii), and less likely by six more fish species. The presence and the alien status of the one amphibian are debatable. No reptile species can be considered invasive at present.

Taxonomic Status of Four Rare Alien Fish Species of the Kapchagay Reservoir (Balkhash Basin, Central Asia)

Abstract— Based on the morphological features, four rare alien species in the Kapchagai reservoir were identified: Coregonus peled, Parasalmo mykiss, Megalobrama mantschuricus, and Oreochromis niloticus. The latter two species were recorded for the ichthyofauna of Kazakhstan for the first time. Self-reproducing P. mykiss populations have been known in the Balkhash Basin since the late 1990s, whereas the introduction of C. peled into the Ili basin in 1968−1969 and 1971 did not lead to the naturalization of the species. The reasons for the great diversity of invasive fish species in the Kapchagai reservoir are overviewed.

First Scientific Record for Sivas Aquatic Systems Related to Alien Fish Species:Small-scaled Pacu; Piaractus mesopotamicus (Teleostei:Characidae)

In July 2017, three specimens of an alien fish species were caught by the amateur fishermen in Kızılırmak River at Sivas city center. One of the fish specimens was taken from the fishermen for ichthyologic examination. The morphological, metric (23 features) and meristic characters (13 features) of this specimen were determined. The alien fish is with ovoid shape and flattened laterally. Mouth is in a sub-ventral position. The tooth row is double. Teeth formula are 3,2 / 2,3 (at first row on maxil) and 2 / 2 (at second row on maxil), 3,3 / 3,4 (at first row on mandibul), 1,1 (at second row on mandibul). The number of rakers on the first gill arch is 33. The scale numbers in line lateral are 107 (on right side) and 103 (on left side). The number of branched rays of dorsal, anal, pectoral, and ventral fins are 14, 24, 14, and 7; respectively. As a result of the evaluation of morphological, metric and meristic characters, it was decided that the alien fish caught from Kızılırmak was Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) belonging to the Characidae family. This species is also called as the small-scaled pacu. P. mesopotamicus is not among to native fish fauna of Kızılırmak. It is a fish species which originated from South America and is a tropical freshwater fish. These alien fish specimens which were caught by the amateur fishermen, probably translocated from a hobbyist aquarium to this aquatic system. Both directly and indirectly, invasive fishes affect a wide range of native organisms from zooplankton to mammals across multiple levels of biological organizations ranging from the genome to the ecosystem. This study is the first scientific record for Sivas aquatic systems related to alien fish species.

A Composition and Abundance of Alien Fish Species in Inland Waters, Southern Iraq

Alien fish species have negative effects on the abundance, diversity and richness of native fish species in southern Iraq. The numbers of alien fish species are constantly increasing due to the entry of invasive species. This has resulted in shifts in the historical composition of fish community structure and scarcity of some native species which represent the keystone in the building of fish populations. Fish samples were monthly collected from three sites in southern Iraq (Al-Chibyaish marsh, the lower parts of Euphrates River, and the northern part of Shatt Al-Arab River) from April 2017 to June 2018. A total of 14,853 individuals of fish were sampled, which represented 26 species, 24 genera and 13 families of bony fishes. Ten alien fish species were recorded, affiliated to nine genera and five families, namely Cichlidae, Cyprinidae, Heteropneustidae, Poeciliidae and Xenocyprididae. Three alien fish species dominated the abundance in the three sites; the Prussian carp Carassuis gibelio comprised 12.58%, 26.19%, and 13.84%, the Blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus formed 16.78%, 13.66%, and 18.79%, , and the Redbelly tilapia Coptodon zillii comprised 7.37%, 7.71%, and 14.66% of the total number of species in three study sites respectively. ( …. ) These alien fish species created serious shifting in fish composition, diversity, richness, and abundance of native fish populations in comparison to the results of the historical survey in southern Iraq.

Relative Abundance and Invasion Dynamics of Alien Fish Species Linked to Chemical Conditions, Ecosystem Health, Native Fish Assemblage, and Stream Order

The incidence and dispersal of invasive alien fish species (IAFS) have ecological impacts on biodiversity and environmental health at regional to global scales. We identified links between the presence of largemouth bass (Lb) and bluegill (Bg), and selected indicators of environmental water quality, trophic and tolerance guilds, ecological health factors, and stream order. We used the data collected from national biomonitoring study sites in four major rivers of South Korea. IAFS occurred in eutrophic waters (Lb = total phosphorus: 140 ± 170 µg/L, chlorophyll a: 16.7 ± 27.5 µg/L; Bg = total phosphorus: 160 ± 190 µg/L, chlorophyll a: 19.43 ± 28.05 µg/L) and dominated at higher ambient ratios of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP). At TN:TP ≤ 100, the relative abundance of Lb and Bg was highest (95.3% and 96.0%, respectively). Concerning tolerance guilds, Lb (R2 = 0.78, p < 0.0001) and Bg (R2 = 0.59, p < 0.0001) had positive relationships with tolerant species in all four river watersheds and negative relationships with the percentages of insectivores and omnivores. This indicates the harmful impacts of IAFS on the aquatic food web. These invasive fish species also influenced stream health, particularly in the Nakdong and Yeongsan/Seomjin rivers. Our findings suggest that assessing chemical water quality can help identify the optimal and suboptimal survival and spread ranges of IAFS (Lb and Bg), as they directly influence tolerance and trophic guilds in the aquatic food web. In conclusion, these IAFS could be a major factor in the deteriorating ecosystem health, which had negative relationships with the abundance and occurrence of IAFS. Therefore, approaches that use appropriate water chemistry factors and species tolerance may provide critical insights into the efficient management of river health that has been perturbed by the presence of IAFS.