Distribution of the non-indigenous fish species, Lepomis Gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758), in Albania

Abstract

Pumpkin seed, Lepomis gibbosus L., is a native fish species to the eastern North America and is introduced to Europe freshwaters during the late nineteenth century and now appears to be wide spread in numerous countries. During the last two decades, the species spread rapidly into the Albanian inland water bodies. The distribution and abundance of invasive fish species Lepomis gibbosus L. inhabiting different water ecosystems, natural or man-made, standing or running ones was investigated. The study was carried out during a period of 10 years mostly during active breeding period for pumpkinseeds. The investigated water bodies are located along different water basins of Albania. Habitat quality was assessed after fish sampling. The following biological and physical habitat variables were considered: dissolved oxygen (mg l-1), pH, and water temperature (oC) measured with multi-parametric probes; electro conductivity (μS/cm) was measured with portable conduct meter. Substrate composition was visually estimated in a 1-m-wide band centered across each assessed area.