Three Hundred and nine specimens of Gila from the Colorado River basin were studied. A form of numerical taxonomy, taximetrics, was used to help classify the specimens. The data from these fish indicate that many of the present hypotheses concerning their taxonomy are not valid. The concept of ecosubspecies or ecological subspecies does not fit the Colorado basin Gila. The roundtail and bonytail chubs, G. robusta Baird and Girard and G. elegans Baird and Girard respectively, currently treated as subspecies, are well separated morphologically, ecologically and reproductively and therefore are better considered two valid species. The relationship between G. cypha Miller and G. elegans is clouded by the presence of what appear to be intergrade forms. Future investigations are needed to piece together the puzzle surrounding these two fish. The subspecies name seminuda (Cope and Yarrow), presently attributed to fish from throughout the Colorado basin, more correctly is allied to the robusta of the Virgin River. Preliminary study indicates this population may be sufficiently different to warrent subspecies recognition. No specimens of G. robusta intermedia (Girard) were examined but the literature suggests this form may also be a valid species.

M.Sc. (Zoology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Sc. (Zoology) / The spermatogenesis of two freshwater species from South Africa, Barbus marequensis and B. polylepis, and three fresh water species from Israel, B. canis, B. longiceps and Capoeta damascina, was studied. A histological comparison of the process of spermatogenesis was undertaken. The breeding cycle of B. marequensis, B. polylepis, B. canis, B. longiceps and C. damascina was similar to the breeding cycle of B. aeneus and four phases occured within the cycle. The four distinctive phases are post spawning phase, rest phase, pre-spawning phase and the spawning phase (Vlok, 1986) . During the post spawning phase a decline in sperm development is observed and possible lisosomal activity is responsible for the resorption of sperm cells not shed during the spawning phase. The presence of collagen structure provides a distinctive character to the tissue of the testis. The resting phase is characterised by the absence of the lobular structure and the testis is dominated by the collagen tissue. The testis is small and unobtrusive in the abdominal cavities of both species. At the onset of the pre-spawning phase, the testis is filled with spermatogonia. The lobular structure becomes more prominent and the interstitial tissue can be distinguished. Later during the phase, the synchronised development of sperm cells in the cysts of the lobules can be observed, whilst sperm cells in adjacent lobules are in different stages of development. During the spawning phase the testis of all species studied contain mature sperm . cells in the lumens of the lobules.

No description available.

Uncovering and understanding the processes that have led to the biological diversity we observe today are of fundamental interest in biology. Since direct observation of speciation is usually impossible, knowledge about the processes behind species formation can be gathered by studying mutations, natural/sexual selection, and genetic drift. In this thesis I aim to identify evolutionary processes that cause species divergence and, ultimately, speciation using Swedish cyprinid fish as a model system. Assuming that the demographic history of a population is mirrored in the genome, I studied the effects of a bottleneck on genetic variability in populations of roach. As expected, I found that a decrease in population size caused a decrease in genetic variability, a pattern that was obtained from both microsatellite and mitochondrial data. The importance of hybridization for speciation is debated, however, by analyzing morphology and microsatellites I could show that common bream and white bream and their interspecific hybrids are phenotypically and genetically differentiated and that ongoing geneflow is mainly unidirectional. Ongoing geneflow antagonizes the effect of genetic drift, but by studying isolated populations (= no gene flow) the impact of genetic drift can be assessed. Long-term isolated populations of roach and perch surprisingly showed stable levels of genetic diversity over time despite decreasing effective population size. However, each population genetically diverged during the period of investigation, a finding that is consistent with the effect of drift. An analysis of the systematic relationship of the 18 species of Swedish cyprinids revealed low congruence of phylogenies based on two different genetic markers. The position of the tench remains unresolved and the relationship of common bream and white bream as sister species cannot be confirmed. Within cyprinid fishes, diversification rates reveal a slowdown with time, a pattern that I found also in other fish clades and that is consistent with density-dependent cladogenesis. Overall, based on the findings presented in this thesis I emphasize that the maintenance of genetic variation in populations is essential since genetic variation is the key element for processes of divergence to act upon.

The fish populations in small southern African reservoirs are largely unexploited and there is potential for fisheries development. However, the development of sustainable fisheries requires reliable estimates of potential yield or production. Empirical models that have been developed to predict fish production only apply to large water bodies and only predict total fish production, not the production of individual species. Small reservoirs generally have few commercially important species and therefore species-specific fish production models are an alternative approach. The small reservoirs of the Eastern Cape are dominated by the moggel (Labeo umbratus). The principal objectives of this thesis were to gain an understanding of the ecology of small reservoirs and the function of moggel in these systems. This information was used to design a research approach to rapidly develop species-specific models for small reservoirs in southern Africa. The limnology of two small reservoirs was compared. During the study period the reservoirs were turbid and showed a warm, monomictic pattern of thermal stratification. Anthropogenic pressure in the reservoir catchments appeared to be the overriding factor increasing the nutrient input to the reservoirs and consequently, influencing the biomass of algae in the reservoirs. The feeding biology of moggel in Katriver and Laing reservoirs was examined. Moggel are detrivorous and successfully digested diatoms. The slower growth rate of moggel in Katriver reservoir was attributed to the poorer nutritional value of the diet as a consequence of the lower concentration of diatoms in the detrital aggregate. The reproductive characteristics of moggel were examined in four reservoirs. Moggel were able to reproduce successfully in the reservoirs. This could be attributed to their r-selected reproductive strategy, with a high fecundity and an extended spawning season and their ability to spawn in a floodplain environment. Differences in recruitment success between years were found to be a consequence of the timing and duration of seasonal rains. The number of mature females in a population and the availability of suitable spawning habitat influenced recruitment success. The life history of the moggel in five reservoirs was compared. Growth appeared to be related to food availability, while mortality was lower in the populations where food was abundant and there were less predatory species. Size and age at maturity were not affected by environmental factors, but were dependent on growth and mortality. Three contrasting methods were used to estimate moggel gillnet selectivity. The Sechin, direct fyke net method and length-structured model all yielded similar results and correction factors obtained from the selectivity study were applied to the gillnet data to estimate the fish population size and structure in each reservoir. Using information from the life history and selectivity studies, the biomass and production of five moggel populations was estimated and related to abiotic and biotic factors in the reservoirs and their catchments. Moggel biomass and production was dependent on the biomass of algae, which was dependent on morphoedaphic characteristics of the reservoirs. Small, shallow reservoirs with a reasonable amount of human habitation in their catchments would sustain the highest algal biomass and provided they had adequate spawning habitat would also have the highest moggel biomass and production. The future research requirements for small reservoir fisheries are outlined and include a three-year program to develop a species-specific production model for any of the dominant species.

The Orange-Fish and Cookhouse tunnels that are part of a major inter-basin water transfer scheme (IBT) act as a pathway for several fish species from the Orange River system to enter the Great Fish and Sundays River systems in South Africa. These include Labeo capensis and L. umbratus. Labeo capensis was restricted to the Orange River system before the inter-basin water transfer scheme. Labeo umbratus occurred naturally in the Orange River and in southern flowing river systems. Previous studies showed that the two species hybridise in Hardap Dam, located in a tributary of the Orange River system in Namibia. There are also unconfirmed reports of hybrids from Darlington Dam on the Sundays River system. The aim of the thesis was to confirm hybridisation in Hardap Dam, assess whether hybridisation between L. capensis and L. umbratus has occurred in Darlington Dam and to gain a better understanding of the diversity of these two species. Morphology (morphometrics and meristics), a nuclear S7 intron and the mitochondrial cytochrome ♭ gene were used to assess for hybridisation. A total of 275 specimens were analysed from across the geographical range of the two species. The two species could be distinguished using morphometrics (dorsal fin base, interorbital width and operculum to eye distance) and meristics (lateral line, origin of the dorsal fin to lateral line, origin of the pelvic fin to lateral line and caudal peduncle scale counts) characters. Hybrids from Hardap and Darlington dams were placed between the two species clusters. Labeo umbratus from the Orange River and southern flowing rivers formed a single cluster. The two species could also be distinguished from each other with six nuclear DNA mutations and hybrids were heterozygous at such sites in both dams. Labeo umbratus populations from the Orange River and southern flowing rivers (Gouritz, Gamtoos, Sundays, Bushmans, Great Fish and Nahoon) formed a single lineage. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA, however, revealed that L. umbratus populations from the Orange River and southern flowing rivers were two lineages that differ from each other by 5 mutations. Labeo capensis could be differentiated from both these lineages. Being maternally inherited, mitochondrial DNA did not reveal hybridisation, but ten specimens with L. capensis haplotypes were found in the Darlington Dam. In Hardap Dam, however, it appears that only L. capensis mitochondrial DNA haplotypes persist, despite morphological and nuclear DNA analysis suggesting that both morphs and hybrids of the two species occur. The genetic integrity of these Labeo species has therefore been compromised in at least Hardap and Darlington dams. The Great Fish and Sundays populations are considered to be under threat of complete introgression. The Kat River and Slagboom Dam populations that were isolated before the IBTs have to remain isolated to protect the genetic integrity of the southern lineage of L. umbratus in these two systems.

Au sein de la famille des Cyprinidés (Téleostéens), Parachondrostoma toxostoma (le toxostome) et Chondrostoma nasus (le hotu) sont deux espèces (respectivement endémique et invasive) qui se rencontrent dans le sud de la France, formant deux zones hybrides distinctes : la zone de la Durance (un milieu fortement fragmenté) et la zone de l'Ardèche (un milieu non fragmenté). La présence de ces deux zones hybrides nous a donné l'opportunité de caractériser les parts respectives de la sélection exogène (l'environnement) et endogène (compatibilité génomique) permettant d'expliquer les patterns d'hybridation entre les deux espèces. Les travaux présentés dans le cadre de cette thèse illustrent parfaitement la complexité des phénomènes d'hybridation, chaque situation étant fortement dépendante du contexte d'étude et ce à l'échelle même de la station. Nous avons montré dans certaines stations que l'espèce endémique résiste à l'introgression de son génome par l'espèce invasive, dans d'autres cas nous avons des scénarios plus complexe d'admixture qui évoluent au cours du temps. Le potentiel évolutif engendré par les phénomènes d'hybridation est cependant indéniable et nous préconisons de prendre en compte ces processus d'hybridation dans les programmes de gestions et de conservation de la biodiversité. / In the Cyprinidae family (Teleostei), Parachondrostoma toxostoma (the sofie) and Chondrostoma nasus (the nase) are respectively endemic and invasive species which are found in sympatry in the south of France. They form two distinct hybrid zones: the Durance River (a highly fragmented environment) and the Ardèche basin (an unfragmented area). The existence of these two different zones allow us to characterize the respective contributions of exogenous selection (environmental factors) and endogenous selection (genomic compatibility) to explain hybridization patterns between the two species.This PhD thesis highlights the complexity of hybridization phenomena. Each situation is highly dependent of the study context. We showed the resistance of the genome of the endemic species to introgression by the genome of the invasive species in some stations. In other cases, we demonstrated more complex scenarios of admixture that evolve over time. The evolutionary potential generated by hybridization is undeniable, and we recommend to take the hybridization process into account in management programs and conservation of biodiversity.

To contribute to the understanding of the invasion biology of common carp Cyprinus carpio in southern Africa, this thesis investigated the life history, relative abundance, long-term population demographics and trophic niche utilisations of non-native common carp C. carpio in relation to two endemic cyprinids, Orange River mudfish Labeo capensis and smallmouth yellowfish Labeobarbus aeneus in South Africa‟s largest impoundment, Lake Gariep. The growth zone deposition rates in astericus otoliths of the three species were validated as biannual for C. carpio and as annual for L. capensis and L. aeneus, which allowed for reliable estimation of lengths-at-age upon which growth, age-at-maturity and mortality rates could be estimated. Cyprinus carpio exhibited fast growth, matured relatively early at two years of age and attained a maximum age of seven years. Labeo capensis grew significantly slower, but attained older ages of up to 12 years. Females showed notably delayed maturation at approximately six years of age. The life history parameter estimates for L. aeneus were similar to those of L. capensis. These species-specific life history characteristics contributed to a substantially higher population growth potential of C. carpio compared to L. capensis and L. aeneus. Delta-lognormal and delta-gamma Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were used to analyse patterns of relative abundance of L. capensis, L. aeneus and C. carpio. The application of these GLMs was necessary to account for large proportions of zeros and strong skewness in the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) from experimental gillnet and fisheries-dependent angler surveys. Confidence intervals around predicted abundance indices were obtained through the development of a generalised parametric bootstrap procedure. The resulting standardised abundance indices were coupled with results from analysis of stable isotope ratios of fish tissues and potential food resources and revealed that C. carpio was mainly confined to soft-bottom habitats, where it predominantly foraged on benthic invertebrates. Labeo capensis was abundant in a wide range of benthic habitats and was consumed basal food resources such as detritus. Labeobarbus aeneus was found to feed mostly on pelagic zooplankton. There were no significant interspecific differences in trophic niche space, suggesting limited resource competition among the three species. Standardised historical and contemporary gillnet CPUE data indicated slow population growth rates of L. capensis and L. aeneus during the first ten years postimpoundment, but showed high biomass levels some four decades after impoundment. These results could be corroborated by stochastic age-structured production model (ASPM) simulations. In contrast to the two endemic species, the gillnet CPUE of C. carpio showed a clear „boom and bust‟ pattern, which, based on ASPM simulations, could be best explained by increased food availability during the first five years postimpoundment, followed by suboptimal conditions thereafter. Together, these results provided evidence that the establishment of the C. carpio population did not prevent the slow but successful long-term establishment of the two large endemic cyprinids. Both endemic fishes revealed specialised feeding within the impoundment.