Invasion of freshwater bodies in the Marmara region (northwestern Turkey) by nonnative gibel carp, Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to learn the invasion speed and sex ratio, which would be indicative of invasive character, of a nonnative fish species, gibel carp, by reporting its new localities in the Marmara region of northwestern Turkey. Whether the occurrence of gibel carp in freshwater bodies of the Marmara region was random (i.e. chance element) was tested. The question of population increase since first introduction was also examined. Among 14 new locations for gibel carp found during this study, the majority were in mostly lentic ecosystems. The invasion rate of gibel carp in the Marmara region, since its first introduction in the early 1980s, is approximately 1 new water body per year (1.17; number of sites invaded by gibel carp = 35). Females significantly outnumbered males in 10 out of the 12 populations studied, with the sex ratio deviating from unity (1:1) in all populations except 2. The regional extent of gibel carp occurrence increased with the number of years since first introduction (y = 1.34x - 2651.1, F = 47.41, P < 0.001, = 0.95). The implications for conservation of native fishes are discussed.