Abstract
Fish diversity and distributions in 33 streams of the Amanos Mountains were investigated between December 2002 and November 2003. Some physical and chemical parameters, such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, pH, and velocity of the streams were measured periodically at each site. The study area was grouped into three regions: AS (Asi Basin), IS (İskenderun Gulf) and CE (Çevlik region). Fish abundance and Shannon Diversity Index were computed for each region. CE region was the poorest compared to the others in terms of fish abundance and diversity. A total of nine species in four families (Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, Anguillidae, Blenniidae) were recorded and all species collected were found to be indigenous. Capoeta barroisi (42.2%) and Garra rufa (33.3%) were the most common and abundant species and Salaria fluviatilis (0.4%), Carasobarbus luteus (0.9%), Anguilla anguilla (1.0%) and Alburnus sellal (1.2%) were the most rarely encountered species in the Amanos Mts. The endangered species Alburnus orontis is also rarely found. Fish diversity was greater in perennial streams (0.62) than in intermittent streams (0.27). There are many adverse human impacts on fish fauna in the Amanos Mountain streams; however, numbers of intermittent streams impose the greatest threat to fish in the Amanos Mts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Backman W.C. 1962. The Freshwater Fishes of Syria. FAO, Fisheries Biol. Tech. Paper No: 8, 185 pp.
Banarescu P. & Nalbant T.T. 1964. Süsswasserfishe der Türkei. 2. Teil Cobitidae. Mitt. Hamb. Zool. Mus. Inst. 61: 159–201.
Baran S. 2004. Gut contents and diet preference of Capoeta barroisi (Lortet, 1894) inhabiting Asi River, Turkey. Unpubl. Thesis, Mustafa Kemal Univ. Institute of Science, Antakya, 56 pp. [In Turkish]
Barbour M.T., Gerritsen J., Snyder B.D. & Stribling, J.B. 1999. Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Streams and Wadeable Rivers: Periphyton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Fish. Second Edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, D.C, 339 pp.
Boulos L., Miller A.G. & Mill R.R. 1994. South West Asia and the Middle East, pp. 293–349. In: Davis S.D., Heywood V.H. & Hamilton A.C. (eds), Centres of Plant Diversity, Information Press, Oxford, England.
Coad B.W. 1995. Exotic and transplanted fishes in southwest Asia. Publ. Espec. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr. 21: 81–106.
Coad B.W. 1996. Zoogeography of the fishes of the Tigris-Euphrates Basin. Zool. Middle East 13: 51–70.
Coad B.W. 2000. Criteria for assessing the conservation status of taxa (as applied to Iranian freshwater fishes). Biologia 55: 537–555.
Cote I.M., Vinyoles D, Reynolds J.D., Doadrio I. & Perdices A. 1998. Potential impacts of gravel extraction on Spanish populations of river blennies Salaria fluviatilis (Pisces, Blennidae). Biol. Conserv. 87: 359–367.
Düzenli A. 2001. Flora of Mount Musa (Hatay/Turkey). Turk. J. Bot. 25: 285–309.
Ekmekçi F.G. & Banarescu P. 1998. A revision of the generic position of Barynotus (Systomus) verhoeffi, and validity of the genera Carasobarbus Kosswigobarbus and Mesopotamichthys (Pisces, Cyprinidae). Folia Zool. 47: 87–96.
Erk’akan F., Atalay-Ekmekçi F.G. & Nalbant T.T. 1999. A review of the genus Cobitis in Turkey (Pisces: Ostariophysi: Cobitidae). Hydrobiologia 403: 13–26.
Erol O. 1963. Asi Nehri Deltasının Jeomorfolojisi ve Dördüncü Zaman Deniz-Akarsu ekileri [Geomorphology of Asi Delta and quaternary sea-stream effects]. Ankara Universitesi Dil ve Tarih Coğrafya Fakültesi Yayınları 48: 7–9.
Eros T., Botta-Dukat Z. & Grossman G.D. 2003. Assemblage structure and habitat use of fishes in a Central European submontane stream: a patch-based approach. Ecol. Freshwater Fish. 12: 141–150.
Geldiay R. & Balık S. 1996. Freshwater Fishes of Turkey (Türkiye Tatlı Su Balıkları). Ege Üniversitesi Su Ürünleri Fakültesi Yayınları, 532 pp.
Gruvel A. 1931. Les états de Syrie. Richesses marines et fluviales. Exploitation actuelle, avenir. Paris, Soc. Ed. Geogr. Marit. Colon. Franc., 453 pp.
Hauer F.R. & Lamberti G.A. (eds) 1996. Methods in Stream Ecology. Academic Press, New York, 674 pp.
Heckel J.J. 1843. Abbildungen und Beschreibungen der Fische Syriens, nebst einer neuen Classification und Characteristik sämmtlicher Gattungen der Cyprinen. Süsswasser-Fische Syriens, Schweizerbart, Stuttgart, 109 pp.
Inoue M. & Nunokawa M. 2002. Effects of longitudinal variations in stream habitat structure on fish abundance: an analysis based on subunit-scale habitat classification. Freshwater Biol. 47: 1594–1607.
IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/ (accessed 06.08.2007).
Kehl H. 1998. Eine landschaftsökologische Komplexanalyse zu den Ursachen extrazonaler Vegetation an der Westabdachung des Amanusgebirges (SO-Türkei). AGNOS Dr. Kehl & Partner, 656 pp.
Krebs C.J. 1989. Ecological Methodology. Harper Collins Publishers, 654 pp.
Krupp F. & Schneider W. 1989. The fishes of the Jordan River drainage basin and Azraq Fauna of Saudi Arabia. Oasis 10: 347–416.
Kuru M. 1980. Key to the inland water fishes of Turkey. Part III. Cyprinidae. Hacettepe Bull. Nat. Sci. Eng. 9: 123–133.
Ladiges W. 1960. Süßwasserfische der Türkei, 1. Teil Cyprinidae. Mitt. Hamb. Zool. Mus. Inst. 58: 105–150.
Magurran E.A. 1988. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. Croom Helm Press, Australia, 179 pp.
Pellegrin J. 1911. Poissons de Syrie. Recueillis par M.H. Gadeau de Kerville. Bull. Soc. Zool. Paris 36: 107–111.
Petry P., Bayley P.B. & Markle D.F. 2003. Relationships between fish assemblages, macrophytes and environmental gradients in the Amazon River floodplain. J. Fish Biol. 63: 547–579.
Pires A.M., Cowx I.G. & Coelho M.M. 1999. Seasonal changes in fish community structure of intermittent streams in the middle reaches of the Guadiana basin, Portugal. J. Fish Biol. 54: 235–249.
Smith K.G. & Darwall W.R.T. 2005. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Fish Endemic to the Mediterranean Basin. IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme, 31 pp.
Türkeş M. 1999. Vulnerability of Turkey to desertification with respect to precipitation and aridity conditions. Turk. J. Eng. Environ. Sci. 23: 363–380.
Yalçın Ş. 1997. Asi Nehri (Orontes) ve Bağlı Suların Balık Faunası [Fish fauna of Asi River (Orontes) and related waters], pp. 73–80. In: IX. Su Ürünleri Sempozyumu, Eğirdir, Isparta.
Yalçın-Özdilek Ş. 2003. Occurrence of the Abu Mullet, Liza abu (Heckel, 1843) (Pisces, Mugilidae), in the Orontes River. Zool. Middle East 30: 111–113.
Yalçın-Özdilek Ş. & Solak K. 2007. The feeding of European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) in the River Asi, Turkey. Electronic J. Ichthyol. 1: 26–35.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Okur, E., Yalçin-Özdilek, Ş. Preliminary study of fish community structure in Amanos Mountain streams (Hatay-Turkey). Biologia 63, 427–438 (2008). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-008-0058-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-008-0058-3