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Little is known of age and growth patterns in loricariid armored catfish living either in their native or invasive ranges. For this first study of age and growth patterns in a loricariid invasive to the US, we collected 185 lapillar otoliths from vermiculated sailfin catfish, Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus, in Volusia Blue Spring, Florida and used t...
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The relationships between otolith size and body length of North African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822), collected from Sakaryabaşı (the main spring area of the Sakarya River) between July 2014 and November 2014, were examined. Length-weight relationship was also calculated for overall specimens. The wild fish were captured by electrofi...
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... reproducción temprana y múltiples temporadas de reproducción al año, 2) alta tasa reproductiva (producen entre 800 y 1500 huevos por hembra), 3) cuidado parental de los huevos que influye en el éxito de la supervivencia, 4) rápido crecimiento (10 cm/año) y esperanza de vida de hasta 5 años, 5) son tolerantes a ambientes con altos niveles de salinidad (11-12 ppt), pH, contaminación y bajos niveles de oxígeno (pueden sobrevivir por más de 30 horas fuera del agua), 6) placas óseas y espinas rígidas que les impide ser depredados fácilmente, y 7) comportamiento territorial y agresivo, lo que ha permitido el establecimiento de poblaciones con altas densidades (Tello et al., 1992;Nico y Martin, 2001;Liang et al., 2005;Hubilla et al., 2007;Gibbs et al., 2008;Gibbs et al., 2013;Capps et al., 2011). ...
... Otra posible razón por la que no se capturaron juveniles en la RNUMM puede deberse a que éstos habitan áreas fuera de la zona de pesca, ya que, según los pescadores, se localizan en lagunas fuera de la reserva y se capturan con atarrayas de mallas pequeñas. Gibbs et al. (2013) argumentaron que los peces diablo juveniles se encuentran en hábitats crípticos para evitar ser depredados con facilidad. ...
... La madurez sexual se determinó en una submuestra de 20-30 hembras que abarcó a todos los grupos de tallas de cada desembarque por mes, según lo recomendado porSuresh et al. (2019). Es decir, se seleccionaron aquellas hembras que presentaron longitudes comprendidas en todos los grupos de tallas (rangos de 100 mm)(Gibbs et al., 2013;Rueda-Jasso et al., 2013). A estos ejemplares se les extrajeron las gónadas, las cuales se pesaron, midieron y fotografiaron en fresco, y se preservaron en formol al 10% (Anexo 5).La determinación de la madurez sexual de las gónadas se realizó macroscópicamente con base en las clasificaciones cualitativas propuestas porVazzoler (1982) y Cook-Hildreth et al. (2016) con base enMazzoni y Caramaschi (1997), que describen cinco y cuatro estadíos de madurez de hembras respectivamente para evitar imprecisiones en la identificación. ...
This thesis comprises how Pterygoplichthys population has invaded a salinity stuarine area in Guatemala. Analyzing sexual maturity, sizes of capture and overfisihing parameters by month and type of gear, this study provides a better overwiew on how the invasion of this catfish has affected fishermen and aquatic ecosystems in the area, and also providing control measurements.
... Several traits have repeatedly been found to predict which fish species are likely to become successful invaders (Marchetti et al. 2004;Ruesink 2005;García-Berthou 2007). Pterygoplichthys exhibit many of these traits, including rapid growth (Gibbs et al. 2013), and protection against a broad range of predators in the form of hard dermal plates and rigid spines (Ebenstein et al. 2015). They are also relatively long-lived (Gibbs et al. 2013). ...
... Pterygoplichthys exhibit many of these traits, including rapid growth (Gibbs et al. 2013), and protection against a broad range of predators in the form of hard dermal plates and rigid spines (Ebenstein et al. 2015). They are also relatively long-lived (Gibbs et al. 2013). The high potential for invasiveness in Pterygoplichthys makes the discovery of these fish in Scotland concerning. ...
... Pterygoplichthys also exhibit parental care, nest and have large eggs (Orfinger and Goodding 2018; Araujo and Langeani 2020), traits associated with increased success of establishment. In part of their introduced range in Florida, P. disjunctivus were found to be multiple spawners and over the course of a three-year study, females became capable of spawning at a smaller size and a larger proportion of the population spawned each year (Gibbs et al. 2013). Indeed, one of the individuals that we found, was carrying eggs. ...
... For instance, some researchers have used the lapilli otolith to estimate the age and growth of ariids from different regions, such as Bagre panamensis, from the United States, California (Maldonado-Coyac et al., 2021), Arius maculatus, from Thailand (Phaeviset et al., 2021), and Plicofollis tenuispinis, Netuma bilineata, Netuma thalassina, and Plicofollis dussumieri, from Kuwaiti waters (Al-Husaini et al., 2021). In Brazil, some researchers have studied G. genidens and G. barbus (Reis, 1986;Oliveira and Novelli, 2005;Gibbs et al., 2013;Maciel et al., 2018). For the Cathorops spixii species, there is still a scarcity of data on the analysis of the age rings in lapillus otoliths (Azevedo et al., 2019). ...
... The differences between the two types of water bodies (Table 1) might result in variations in food, dissolved oxygen, territory, or interspecific competition and harvesting as "trashfish", subsequently affecting the size of the fish. In general, P. disjunctivus have rapid growth (100 mm/year) and a relatively short lifespan (ca. 5 years) [30,46]. The lifespans of P. disjunctivus in both Dinh River and Suoi Trau Reservoir were less than the estimated lifetime of this species in Volusia Blue Spring, Florida, USA (5.25 years) [30,46], although they had a similar length (L ∞ = 500-520 mm). ...
... In general, P. disjunctivus have rapid growth (100 mm/year) and a relatively short lifespan (ca. 5 years) [30,46]. The lifespans of P. disjunctivus in both Dinh River and Suoi Trau Reservoir were less than the estimated lifetime of this species in Volusia Blue Spring, Florida, USA (5.25 years) [30,46], although they had a similar length (L ∞ = 500-520 mm). The shorter lifetime may relate to the higher average temperatures of Vietnamese climate conditions compared to Florida climate conditions, as lifetime and temperature typically correlate negatively [47]. ...
Citation: Dien, T.D.; Ha, V.T.; Dang, M.; Sang, H.M.; Hieu, N.T.D.; Stolbunov, I.A. Phenotypic Divergences in Growth and Reproduction Underpin the Invasion of Suckermouth Armored Catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Loricariidae) into Lotic and Lentic Habitats in Vietnam. Water 2023, 15, 3616. https://doi.org/10.3390/ w15203616 Academic Editor: Nisikawa Usio
Abstract: Suckermouth armored catfish (Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus) is one of the most widespread invasive species in Vietnam. However, it is relatively unknown how the species underwent its divergent adaptations to varying local conditions and habitat types, an understanding of which is essential for managing its invasion in Vietnam. We addressed this by analyzing a large number of fish (662 samples) collected in lotic (Dinh River) and lentic (Suoi Trau Reservoir) habitats in southern Vietnam during one year. The allometric growth patterns estimated by von Bertalanffy growth functions were L t = 483 1 − e −0.71(t−0.40) in Dinh River and L t = 346 1 − e −1.01(t−0.62) in Suoi Trau Reservoir. The estimated fish ages were 2.9 to 4.2 years old with an average total length from 206.10 ± 2.09 mm in Suoi Trau Reservoir to 319.22 ± 3.29 mm in Dinh River. The percentage of fish with matured ovaries peaked in August (100%) and was lowest in February (<10%), indicating that these fish breed nearly all year round. The main reproductive season is April-October, with a peak in July-August, as indicated by the gonado-somatic index and monthly changes in the percentage of matured fish. The lengths at 50% maturity were 234.3 and 179.7 mm for females from lotic and lentic habitats, respectively. Lotic fish had a fecundity (4812 ± 383 oocytes/ind.) which was five times greater than that of lentic fish (841 ± 91 oocytes/ind.); however, the relative fecundity of the fish was not statistically different between the two habitats (≈13 oocytes/g). This result was consistent with the larger oocytes: 2.95 ± 0.04 and 2.58 ± 0.01 mm for fish from Dinh River and Suoi Trau Reservoir, respectively. The faster growth and bigger fish with higher fecundity in the lotic habitats suggest that their population growth can accelerate more quickly, potentially affecting local communities more than those in lentic habitats. Our study sheds light on substantial phenotypic divergences in the reproduction and growth of the suckermouth armored catfish between lotic and limnetic habitats in Vietnam.
... include the intentional release of the fish by the aquarium owner or escape from commercial rearing tanks or ponds (Bijukumar et al. 2015;Hussan et al. 2016). Along with the pet trade-vectored high propagule pressure, high fecundity (Hoover et al. 2004;Gibbs et al. 2008), longer life span (Gibbs et al. 2013), rapid growth rate (Liang et al. 2005;Gibbs et al. 2013), broad environmental tolerance (Liang et al. 2005;Capps et al. 2011;Brion et al. 2013;Gibbs and Groff 2014;Harter et al. 2014) and strong pectoral spines with an armoured exterior made Pterygoplichthys spp. a successful global invader. From the global perspective, including India and Bangladesh, the invasion of Pterygoplichthys spp. ...
... include the intentional release of the fish by the aquarium owner or escape from commercial rearing tanks or ponds (Bijukumar et al. 2015;Hussan et al. 2016). Along with the pet trade-vectored high propagule pressure, high fecundity (Hoover et al. 2004;Gibbs et al. 2008), longer life span (Gibbs et al. 2013), rapid growth rate (Liang et al. 2005;Gibbs et al. 2013), broad environmental tolerance (Liang et al. 2005;Capps et al. 2011;Brion et al. 2013;Gibbs and Groff 2014;Harter et al. 2014) and strong pectoral spines with an armoured exterior made Pterygoplichthys spp. a successful global invader. From the global perspective, including India and Bangladesh, the invasion of Pterygoplichthys spp. ...
... Following the introduction of Pterygoplichthys spp. in freshwater habitats, rapid growth, high fecundity and low predation pressure from native predators (Hoover et al. 2004;Liang et al. 2005;Gibbs et al. 2008Gibbs et al. , 2013Zworykin and Budaev 2013) usually result in explosive population growth that results in negative impacts on native fish and wildlife (Hossain et al. 2018;Parvez et al. 2023). Over the last few years, frequent catches of Pterygoplichthys spp. ...
The Sailfin Catfish of the genus Pterygoplichthys is a popular aquarium pet distributed and sold globally through the ornamental pet trade. Pterygoplichthys spp. have established stable populations in various freshwater ecosystems following aquarium pet owners' deliberate introduction in the regions outside their native range (South America). Colonisations of Pterygoplichthys spp. in multiple areas of India and Bangladesh were reported along with frequent catches with the aquacultural fish hauls and subsequent adverse effects on the socio-economy and ecosystem functions. In the present study, we identified the suitable habitats of Pterygoplichthys spp. using species distribution modelling (SDM) based on global and regional occurrence data considering India and Bangladesh as focal areas. Along with literature surveys and online databases, we used social media platforms to gather additional occurrence data for SDM. In addition, the social media platforms were used to conduct an online survey to assess the public perception regarding using Ptery-goplichthys spp. as an aquarium pet and subsequent release to natural waterbodies. The results of SDM indicated that several areas of India and the whole of Bangladesh are high to moderately suitable for Pterygoplichthys spp. colonisation and range expansion which can be prioritised for effective restoration and management. It is evident from people's perception that raising awareness among the public about the potential impacts of invasive species on the concerned ecosystems may help reduce or stop further deliberate non-native species introductions to natural habitats.
... All spawning burrows were checked for any potential egg masses and none were found throughout the effort. Additional monitoring did not find any Vermiculated Sailfin Catfish, suggesting a successful eradication, although this species is found in many other areas of Florida, and there have been other efforts to control and eradicate the species in those regions with little success (Gibbs et al. 2013, Nico et al. 2012. ...
... While some removal efforts detailed in my review succeeded in locally eradicating an invasive population, similar efforts to remove the same species in other regions failed. For example, the Vermiculated Sailfin Catfish is established in other regions of Florida (e.g., Volusia County) where removal efforts have been unsuccessful in limiting their increasing numbers (Gibbs et al. 2013, Nico et al. 2012. Similarly, a few of the efforts document a failed removal attempt that eventually succeeded years later (e.g., the Feral Swine, Cayo Costa Island). ...
Species invasions can alter ecosystems, decimate populations of native species , facilitate the spread of infectious diseases, and threaten industries like fisheries and agriculture. Significant resources and financial investments are often directed towards invasive species management (ISM) to prevent future introductions, to remove smaller populations, and to contain expanding populations. While prevention is the most important goal of ISM, focus may shift to removal (eradication) when prevention fails. Eradication attempts are costly and have not been inclusive of all invasive populations. These efforts are inherently difficult because they require an abundance of resources, must be executed before the population expands, can be disrupted by public opposition, and often require years of monitoring to confirm success. Regardless, even failed eradica-tion attempts provide important lessons to potentially improve future eradication efforts. This review of 20 case studies in Florida assesses successful and failed eradication attempts to identify common factors that contributed to each outcome. More than half of the detailed failed eradication attempts either lacked communication from or were outright disrupted by stakeholders. Most successful eradications targeted fish or small mammals and removed <200 individuals. Nearly half of the successful eradications occurred on islands or within isolated bodies of water. Despite the abundance of invasive herpetofauna in Florida, there has yet to be a documented successful eradication effort targeting these species. While many barriers exist to publishing eradication outcomes, future eradica-tion efforts should prioritize documentation to provide guidance to similar efforts. Future research should address the role of media coverage and outreach efforts regarding eradica-tion success, especially efforts targeting charismatic species.
... This species is a facultative airbreathing, benthic omnivorous species with strong colonisation capabilities (Hoover et al. 2014). This species has been reported from at least six countries outside of its native range (India, China, Philippines, Mexico, Thailand and USA) (Chaichana et al. 2011;Wei et al. 2017;CABI 2019), but little information is available concerning its impact on native species and ecosystems (Gibbs et al. 2013;Hoover et al. 2014). Increasing concern has been expressed for the spread and potential impacts of this and closely related species on the Indian subcontinent (Galib and Mohsin 2010;Hussan et al. 2016;Hossain et al. 2018;Das et al. 2020;Raj et al. 2020). ...
... Although the feeding niche of C. catla (pelagic planktivore) is different from sailfin catfish (bottom feeder) this study suggests they can still be affected when sailfin catfish density is high in the environment. Although P. disjunctivus is primarily a bottom feeder, as found in the wild population studied here, invading loricariids may disperse throughout the receptor habitat, exploiting foods from everywhere, suggesting the potential for widespread interference effects (Nico et al. 2009;Gibbs et al. 2013). Strong impacts were evident for the midwater omnivore L. rohita, but the greatest effects on growth and mortality were evident for the bottom-feeding omnivore C. cirrhosis, as hypothesised. ...
... The low growth of sailfin catfish in this study is, perhaps, surprising but no growth data for sailfish catfish alone were gathered in this study against which to gauge interspecific effects. However, sailfin catfish can grow at 10 cm year -1 and, considering the early stage of life, similar growth to our study may be expected (Gibbs et al. 2013). No change in sailfin catfish growth across treatments of varying density indicates that they can maintain similar growth under high density conditions. ...
Invasion by armoured catfishes (Loricariidae) is a threat to native fish communities of warm, freshwater habitats. Following importation as an ornamental species, the vermiculated sailfin catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus, has become established in inland waters of Bangladesh. We recorded the distribution of sailfin catfish in Bangladesh. Vermiculated sailfin catfish was recorded in 17 rivers across the majority of the country, with well-established breeding populations in four localities. We measured competition between three native carps and sailfin catfish by determining growth and survival, and by carrying out gut analysis. The competition experiment was carried out using a randomised block design in earthen ponds with similar physico-chemical parameters to freshwater habitats in Bangladesh. It demonstrated that growth and survival rate of native cyprinid fishes can be adversely impacted in the presence of sailfin catfish. In high-density catfish treatments, growth of Cirrhinus cirrhosus (bottom-feeding omnivore), Labeo rohita (midwater omnivore) and Catla catla (pelagic planktivore) was reduced by 48.4%, 21.4% and 2.4% respectively, compared to controls containing the three cyprinids but no catfish. Survival of C. cirrhosus reduced to 70% in high-density catfish treatments, compared to 100% in catfish-free ponds, with lesser effects on the other species. Low- and medium-density catfish treatments generated lesser growth and survival effects. Catfish diet remained stable across density treatments, but diet of native fishes deviated increasingly from control values as catfish density increased. This study demonstrates impacts of sailfin catfish on native fish species and the increasing distribution of sailfin catfish in Bangladesh.
... Age was estimated by counting growth band pairs (i.e. translucent and opaque zones: after Gibbs et al. 2013), and all otoliths were read three times by the first author under a microscope (OLYMPUS CX 41). Precision of age estimates was computed after Gibbs et al. (2013). ...
... translucent and opaque zones: after Gibbs et al. 2013), and all otoliths were read three times by the first author under a microscope (OLYMPUS CX 41). Precision of age estimates was computed after Gibbs et al. (2013). The mean estimated age (t) of each specimen was then used in further analysis. ...
Plasticity in growth and life-history traits is an important attribute of non-native (NN) fishes, facilitating their adaptation to novel environments. Few studies have investigated geographical variations in multiple biological traits and the factors affecting the variations. In this study, variations in multiple biological traits of NN sailfin catfishes Pterygoplichthys spp. were investigated in the main river basins of the Guangdong and Hainan provinces of South China. The impacts of environmental factors on the biological traits were analysed using general linear modeling and an information-theoretic approach. Among-basin differences in population growth was observed, with richness of competitor fishes negatively affecting growth, maturity and reproductive traits-this suggests biotic resistance was mediated by competition with native fishes. These traits were positively affected by total phosphorus concentration, which is indicative of bottom-up effects, mediated by inorganic nutrients, potentially playing an important role in the invasion success of NN fish. In population level, a bet-hedging strategy was observed in sailfin catfishes under unfavourable environment conditions (e.g. Nangdujiang), whereas a "master-of-some" strategy was found under favourable conditions (e.g. Pearl River Delta and Western Basin). The results suggested that plasticity in multiple biological traits of sailfin catfishes is an important strategy to overcome changing environmental conditions in different rivers, and habitat-specific variations across river basins would reflect trade-offs amongst traits at the population level. Therefore, habitat-specific management measures, adapted to the invaded ecosystem's features and the life-history strategy of the NN species, could provide an effective means to control invasive species.
... These fish can reach a length of 35 cm in 2 years [11,30] can reach a maximum length of 49 cm [34,35]. [36] reported that standard length frequency analysis and linear growth models supported a growth rate of around 10 cm/year. The large group was 22 cm in September 2009, developed to 27 cm in March 2010, and then to 32 cm in September 2010, thus supporting a group growth rate of about 10 cm/year. ...
Bengawan Solo river 548.53 km is the longest river in Java Island Indonesia, which crosses provinces of Central Java and East Java. Bengawan Solo river is heavily polluted by agricultural, industrial and domestic wastes, especially in Surakarta Residence, Central Java. The impacts of pollution in Bengawan Solo river are poor water quality, the population of native fish has declined sharply and some were almost extinct. The fish that develop was Sailfin catfish ( Pterygoplichthys pardalis ) because these fish were resistant to pollution. The study aimed to determine the growth parameters of Sailfin catfish ( P. pardalis ) in Bengawan Solo river. Estimation of growth parameter using length frequency data analysis was done using the FISAT program package. The results of growth parameters of Sailfin catfish ( P. pardalis ) showed that infinity length (L∞) = 41.75 cm; acceleration of growth (K) = 0.48 cm/year. Natural mortality (M) = 1,1; fishing mortality (F) = 2.47; and total mortality (Z) = 3.57. Exploitation rate (E) = 0.69. The conclusion is the fishing mortality of Sailfin catfish is quite high, while natural mortality is low because the fish are resistant to pollution.
... anisitsi (Eigenmann and Kennedy, 1903), P. disjunctivus (Weber 1991), and P. multiradiatus (Hancock 1828)], there is evidence of hybridization (Nico et al. 2012), and the fish in Volusia Blue Spring appear to be primarily P. disjunctivus. The spring ecosystem is, for adult Pterygoplichthys, relatively benign; they consistently have full guts and intestinal fat deposits, grow rapidly, and maintain reproductive readiness throughout the year (Gibbs et al. 2013(Gibbs et al. , 2017. Pterygoplichthys do not seem to breed in the spring run (Gibbs et al. 2008), most likely because the spring DO and temperature are both low enough to limit developmental rates and larval feeding ability, and the increased metabolic demand of surfacing to breathe may be one too many energetic demands on nest-guarding male loricariids (Doudoroff and Shumway 1970;Chapman and McKenzie 2009). ...
Many hypoxic freshwater springs have become havens for air-breathing, invasive, loricariid armored catfish. However, this does not seem to be the case for juvenile catfish, which are rarely seen. We wondered if hypoxia and air-breathing influenced habitat selection in juveniles, and so we designed an experiment to test the sensitivity of two size classes of juvenile catfish to varying concentrations of dissolved oxygen. Small and medium-sized juvenile Pterygoplichthys sp. were exposed to hypoxic, transitional, or normoxic conditions in the laboratory, and their air-breathing rates were measured and compared between fish size and dissolved oxygen category using a two-way ANOVA. We also measured air-breathing synchrony, which was assessed with a coefficient of dispersion and compared between fish sizes with a two-tailed, one-sample t-test, and with dissolved oxygen using linear regressions. We found that all fish air-breathed significantly more frequently under hypoxic conditions and smaller fish breathed significantly more frequently than medium fish at all dissolved oxygen levels, although there was no interaction effect. There was no air-breathing threshold oxygen tension, and only small fish exhibited synchronous air-breathing behavior. All of the behavioral changes we observed as dissolved oxygen decreased would put juveniles at greater risk of predation, and likely explains why so few juveniles are found in hypoxic waters.
