Trophic relationships of translocated and indigenous chub Squalius cephalus populations with trophically analogous fishes.

Abstract

The translocation of non-indigenous fishes into lowland rives can result in invasive populations establishing and dispersing. Because non-indigenous fishes can cause ecological harm, it is important to understand their trophic relationships and the effects they may have on native fishes. We assessed the trophic ecology of a translocated chub Squalius cephalus population in the River Frome, a lowland chalk stream in Southern England, using bulk stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) metrics, and compared the results with those derived from indigenous chub populations. The isotopic niche sizes of all fishes in the River Frome were substantially larger in the tidal versus non-tidal site, with the δ13C values suggesting some fish were foraging further downstream of their sampling point in areas that had greater tidal and salinity influences. Inter-specific comparisons of isotopic niches revealed a consistent pattern of similar niche size and overlap between chub and the trophically analogous dace Leuciscus leuciscus. These isotopic relationships between chub and dace were then also apparent in the indigenous populations of these fishes. These results suggest that the colonisation of this lowland river by translocated chub is being facilitated by their isotopic relationships with other fishes that are similar to those observed in their native range.