Original Articles Open access

Plasticity of life-history traits in the Draa barbel Luciobarbus lepineyi (Pellegrin, 1939) (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) in the sub-Saharan Draa basin, Morocco: effect of change in flow regime and salinity

Authors

  • Souhaib Hanfouri – articles in this journal Corresponding author Email https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0748-0966 Water, Biodiversity and Climate Change (WBCC) Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Marrakech; Vertebrate Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, The Natural History Museum of Marrakech, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco.
    • Fayçal Ait Boumallassa – articles in this journal Water, Biodiversity and Climate Change (WBCC) Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Marrakech; Vertebrate Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, The Natural History Museum of Marrakech, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco.
      • Mohamed Naimi – articles in this journal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8929-6578 Vertebrate Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, The Natural History Museum of Marrakech, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech; Polyvalent Laboratory for Research and Development, Department of Biology and Geology, Polydisciplinary Faculty, Sultan Mulay Sliman, Beni-Mellal, Morocco.
        • Mohamed Znari – articles in this journal Water, Biodiversity and Climate Change (WBCC) Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Marrakech; Vertebrate Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, The Natural History Museum of Marrakech, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco.
          Published
          16 September 2024
          Section
          Original Articles
          DOI
          10.4081/jlimnol.2024.2196

          Abstract

          The Draa barbel Luciobarbus lepineyi (Pellegrin, 1939), an endemic and unique cyprinid of the arid Draa river basin, southern Morocco, faces a range of multiple environmental stressors, especially in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES). We assessed the effects of flow intermittence and salinisation on the somatic condition, and life-history traits in Draa barbels. We used the scaled-mass index (SMi) to evaluate the mean individual somatic body condition in nine populations. For three contrasted localities: Iriri (IR), Mghimima (MG), and Sid El Mokhtar (SM), we aged fish from scales and calculated von Bertalanffy growth parameters using the Beverton-Holt procedure. We used these parameters to estimate growth indices and performance, size and age at maturity, longevity, and mortality rates. Mean SMi decreased markedly with increasing salinity, revealing a normal condition at 0.4 PSU in IR, a poor condition in MG at 4 PSU, and a very poor condition at 10 PSU in SM. Growth rates (k) increased with salinity. Conversely, asymptotic lengths L∞ and growth performances (phi-prime, φ′) decreased with salinity and flow intermittency. The potential longevity tmax decreased with the increase in salinity. On the other hand, the mortality rate increased with flow intermittence and salinity. The Draa barbels in the saline IRES of the arid Draa basin compensate for the high mortality by growing faster but less efficiently. They mature at an earlier age and have shorter longevity. With this high life-history plasticity, the Draa barbel would constitute a good ecological indicator and a sentinel for salinisation in variable aquatic environments in the arid Draa river basin. 

          Keywords

          Edited by

          Michela Rogora, National Research Council, Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Verbania Pallanza, Italy

          Supporting Agencies

          Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung), Bonn, Germany

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