Original Articles
28 August 2025
Vol. 84 (2025)
Movement and habitat use of native and non-native small benthic fish in a high conservation value agricultural environment
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
0
Views
0
Downloads
Authors
Despite the considerable progress that has been made in the field of taxonomy and genetics of freshwater fish, there is still a paucity of knowledge regarding their ecology and behaviour. We used PIT-telemetry to study movement and habitat use of native and non-native benthic fish species in a spring-fed irrigation stream, subject to seasonal macrophyte removal, in a rice field in North-Western Italy. This anthropogenically managed environment constitutes a habitat of high conservation value for some important endemisms, while hosting several non-native species. Fish were tracked both using manual tracking and stationary PIT-antennas, and telemetry data was complemented with catch data from electrofishing. The native P. bonelli and the non-native M. anguillicaudatus were tracked in sufficient numbers to allow quantitative analysis. While successfully tracked in the study area, both species were mostly stationary, but some fish registered movements in the study area of several hundred meters. M. anguillicaudatus showed a tendency of greater movements. With time, most fish disappeared from the study area but no direct migratory movement was detected. M. anguillicaudatus showed a clear preference for macrophyte-covered substrates while P. bonelli were frequently tracked both among macrophytes and on gravel substrates. Electrofishing data showed higher fish abundance in reaches subject to only partial macrophyte removal (fish-friendly management) compared to those subject to standard removal. Overall, movement seems to be an integral part of the ecology of benthic fish in this system, where vegetation appears to structure their spatial behavior.
Altmetrics
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Citations
Abbà M, Ruffino C, Bo T, Bonetto D, Bovero S, Candiotto A, Comoglio C, Conte PL, Nyqvist D, Spairani M, Fenoglio S, 2024. Distribution of fish species in the upper Po River Basin (NW Italy): a synthesis of 30 years of data. Journal of Limnology 83:.
Bajer PG, Chizinski CJ, Sorensen PW, 2011. Using the Judas technique to locate and remove wintertime aggregations of invasive common carp. Fisheries Management and Ecology 18:497–505.
Baruch EM, Yarnell SM, Grantham TE, Ayers JR, Rypel AL, Lusardi RA, 2024. Mimicking functional elements of the natural flow regime promotes native fish recovery in a regulated river. Ecological Applications e3013.
Bovero S, Abba’ M, Segreto C, Scoditti G, Favelli M, 2022. Biological traits of Cobitis cf. elongatoides (Actinopterygii: Cobitidae) in the Malone Stream drainage (Piedmont, NW Italy). Italian Journal of Freshwater Ichtyology 8:2–8.
Breen MJ, Ruetz CR, Thompson KJ, Kohler SL, 2009. Movements of mottled sculpins (Cottus bairdii) in a Michigan stream: how restricted are they? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 66:31–41.
Carosi A, Ghetti L, La Porta G, Lorenzoni M, 2017. Ecological effects of the European barbel Barbus barbus (L., 1758)(Cyprinidae) invasion on native barbel populations in the Tiber River basin (Italy). The European Zoological Journal 84:420–435.
Castro-Santos T, Haro A, Walk S, 1996. A passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag system for monitoring fishways. Fisheries research 28:253–261.
Cooke SJ, Bergman JN, Twardek WM, Piczak ML, Casselberry GA, Lutek K, Dahlmo LS, Birnie‐Gauvin K, Griffin LP, Brownscombe JW, Raby GD, Standen EM, et al., 2022. The movement ecology of fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 101:756–779.
Cooke SJ, Midwood JD, Thiem JD, Klimley P, Lucas MC, Thorstad EB, Eiler J, Holbrook C, Ebner BC, 2013. Tracking animals in freshwater with electronic tags: past, present and future.
Cookingham MN, Ruetz Iii CR, 2008. Evaluating passive integrated transponder tags for tracking movements of round gobies. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 17:303–311.
Cucherousset J, Britton JR, Beaumont WRC, Nyqvist M, Sievers K, Gozlan RE, 2010. Determining the effects of species, environmental conditions and tracking method on the detection efficiency of portable PIT telemetry. Journal of Fish Biology 76:1039–1045.
Cucherousset J, Olden JD, 2011. Ecological Impacts of Nonnative Freshwater Fishes. Fisheries 36:215–230.
Cucherousset J, Paillisson J-M, Roussel J-M, 2007. Using PIT technology to study the fate of hatchery-reared YOY northern pike released into shallow vegetated areas. Fisheries Research 85:159–164.
De Leeuw J, Winter H, 2008. Migration of rheophilic fish in the large lowland rivers Meuse and Rhine, the Netherlands. Fisheries Management and Ecology 15:409–415.
Delmastro G, Balma G, Bovero S, Candiotto A, 2021. Massiccia presenza di un nuovo cobite esotico in Piemonte (Actinopterygii: Cobitidae). Rivista Piemontese di Storia Naturale 42:161–171.
Delmastro GB, Boano G, Conte PL, Fenoglio S, 2015. Great cormorant predation on Cisalpine pike: a conservation conflict. Eur J Wildl Res 61:743–748.
Dibble ED, Killgore KJ, Harrel SL, 1997. Assessment of Fish-Plant Interactions. Citeseer.
Dudgeon D, Arthington AH, Gessner MO, Kawabata Z-I, Knowler DJ, Lévêque C, Naiman RJ, Prieur-Richard A-H, Soto D, Stiassny ML, 2006. Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges. Biological reviews 81:163–182.
Egger B, Wiegleb J, Seidel F, Burkhardt‐Holm P, Emanuel Hirsch P, 2021. Comparative swimming performance and behaviour of three benthic fish species: The invasive round goby ( Neogobius melanostomus ), the native bullhead ( Cottus gobio ), and the native gudgeon ( Gobio gobio ). Ecology of Freshwater Fish 30:391–405.
Elvira B, Nicola GG, Ayllón D, Almodóvar A, 2022. Seasonal patterns of microhabitat selection in the Southern Iberian spined-loach Cobitis paludica. Aquatic Sciences 84:34.
Fortini N, 2016. Nuovo atlante dei pesci delle acque interne italiane: guida completa ai pesci, ciclostomi e crostacei decapodi di acque dolci e salmastre.
Frank BM, Gimenez O, Baret PV, 2012. Assessing brown trout ( Salmo trutta ) spawning movements with multistate capture–recapture models: a case study in a fully controlled Belgian brook. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 69:1091–1104.
Fraser DF, Gilliam JF, Daley MJ, Le AN, Skalski GT, 2001. Explaining leptokurtic movement distributions: intrapopulation variation in boldness and exploration. The American Naturalist 158:124–135.
Freyhof J, Kottelat M, 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes.
Fujimoto Y, Ouchi Y, Hakuba T, Chiba H, Iwata M, 2008. Influence of modern irrigation, drainage system and water management on spawning migration of mud loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus C. Environmental Biology of Fishes 81:185–194.
Gatz Jr. AJ, Adams SM, 1994. Patterns of movement of centrarchids in two warmwater streams in eastern Tennessee. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 3:35–48.
Gerking SD, 1953. Evidence for the Concepts of Home Range and Territory in Stream Fishes. Ecology 34:347–365.
Gomarasca S, 2002. Indagine conoscitiva sui fontanili del Parco Agricolo Sud Milano. Provincia di Milano, Parco Agricolo Sud Milano, WWF, Milano.
Gowan C, 2007. Short-term cues used by foraging trout in a California stream. Environmental Biology of Fishes 78:317–331.
Gowan C, Young MK, Fausch KD, Riley SC, 1994. Restricted Movement in Resident Stream Salmonids: A Paradigm Lost? Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51:2626–2637.
Hirsch PE, Thorlacius M, Brodin T, Burkhardt-Holm P, 2017. An approach to incorporate individual personality in modeling fish dispersal across in-stream barriers. Ecology and Evolution 7:720–732.
Höjesjö J, ØKland F, Sundström LF, Pettersson J, Johnsson JI, 2007. Movement and home range in relation to dominance; a telemetry study on brown trout Salmo trutta. Journal of Fish Biology 70:257–268.
Jepsen N, Ravn HD, Pedersen S, 2018. Change of foraging behavior of cormorants and the effect on river fish. Hydrobiologia 820:189–199.
Jepsen N, Thorstad EB, Havn T, Lucas MC, 2015. The use of external electronic tags on fish: an evaluation of tag retention and tagging effects. Anim Biotelemetry 3:49.
Kano Y, Kawaguchi Y, Yamashita T, Sekijima T, Shimatani Y, Taniguchi Y, 2013. A passive integrated transponder tag implanted by a new alternative surgical method: effects on the oriental weather loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) and application in a small irrigation system. Landscape Ecol Eng 9:281–287.
Keeler RA, Breton A, Peterson DP, Cunjak RA, 2007. Apparent survival and detection estimates for PIT-tagged slimy sculpin in five small New Brunswick streams. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136:281–292.
Kelly BB, Cary JB, Smith AD, Pregler KC, Kim S, Kanno Y, 2017. Detection efficiency of a portable PIT antenna for two small-bodied fishes in a piedmont stream. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 37:1362–1369.
Klinard NV, Fisk AT, Kessel ST, Halfyard EA, Colborne SF, 2018. Habitat use and small-scale residence patterns of sympatric sunfish species in a large temperate river. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 75:1059–1069.
Langerhans RB, Reznick DN, 2010. Ecology and Evolution of Swimming Performance in Fishes: Predicting Evolution with Biomechanics, p. 200–248 In: Domenici P and BG Kapoor (eds.), Fish Locomotion, 1e. CRC Press.
Lugli M, Bobbio L, Torricelli P, Gandolfi G, 1992. Breeding ecology and male spawning success in two hill-stream populations of the freshwater goby,Padogobius martensi. Environ Biol Fish 35:37–48.
Meyer L, Hinrichs D, 2000. Microhabitat Preferences and Movements of the Weatherfish, Misgurnus fossilis, in a Drainage Channel. Environmental Biology of Fishes 58:297–306.
Miranda LE, Driscoll MP, Allen MS, 2000. Transient physicochemical microhabitats facilitate fish survival in inhospitable aquatic plant stands. Freshwater Biology 44:617–628.
Mitsuo Y, Ohira M, Tsunoda H, Yuma M, 2013. Movement patterns of small benthic fish in lowland headwater streams. Freshwater Biology 58:2345–2354.
Nyqvist D, Calles O, Forneris G, Comoglio C, 2022. Movement and Activity Patterns of Non-Native Wels Catfish (Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758) at the Confluence of a Large River and Its Colder Tributary. Fishes 7:325.
Nyqvist D, Schiavon A, Ashraf M, Candiotto A, Palazzi A, Parolini M, Comoglio C, 2024a. Survival and Swimming Performance of Small-Sized Gobiidae Implanted with Mini Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT-Tags). Water 16:2745.
Nyqvist D, Schiavon A, Candiotto A, Comoglio C, 2024b. Interspecific differences in swimming performance, behavior and survival between native Italian gudgeon (Gobio benacensis Pollini, 1816) and non-native European gudgeon (Gobio gobio Linnaeus, 1758). The European Zoological Journal.
Nyqvist D, Schiavon A, Candiotto A, Mozzi G, Eggers F, Comoglio C, 2023. PIT-tagging Italian spined loach (Cobitis bilineata): Methodology, survival and behavioural effects. Journal of Fish Biology 102:575–580.
Nzau Matondo B, Séleck E, Dierckx A, Benitez J, Rollin X, Ovidio M, 2019. What happens to glass eels after restocking in upland rivers? A long‐term study on their dispersal and behavioural traits. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.
Ovidio M, Detaille A, Bontinck C, Philippart J-C, 2009. Movement behaviour of the small benthic Rhine sculpin Cottus rhenanus (Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005) as revealed by radio-telemetry and pit-tagging. Hydrobiologia 636:119–128.
Park C-W, Kim J-G, Yun S-W, Kim H-T, Park J-S, Choi W-S, Cho Y-J, Lee Y-J, Park J-Y, 2018. Habitat, diet, feeding and resting behaviour of the Korean endemic cobitid Iksookimia hugowolfeldi (Cobitidae, Pisces) in the wild. Folia Zoologica 67:1–8.
Petty JT, Grossman GD, 2004. Restricted movement by mottled sculpin (pisces: cottidae) in a southern Appalachian stream. Freshwater Biology 49:631–645.
Radinger J, Wolter C, 2014. Patterns and predictors of fish dispersal in rivers. Fish and fisheries 15:456–473.
Rehage JS, Sih A, 2004. Dispersal behavior, boldness, and the link to invasiveness: a comparison of four Gambusia species. Biological Invasions 6:379–391.
Reyjol Y, Loot G, Lek S, 2005. Estimating sampling bias when using electrofishing to catch stone loach. Journal of Fish Biology 66:589–591.
Ritterbusch D, Blabolil P, Breine J, Erős T, Mehner T, Olin M, Peirson G, Volta P, Poikane S, 2022. European fish-based assessment reveals high diversity of systems for determining ecological status of lakes. Science of The Total Environment 802:149620.
Rodríguez MA, 2002. Restricted Movement in Stream Fish: The Paradigm Is Incomplete, Not Lost. Ecology 83:1–13.
Rondinini C, Battistoni A, Teofili C, 2022. Lista Rossa IUCN dei Vertebrati Italiani 2022. Comitato Italiano IUCN e Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del territorio e del mare: Roma, Italy.
Saboret G, Dermond P, Brodersen J, 2021. Using PIT-tags and portable antennas for quantification of fish movement and survival in streams under different environmental conditions. Journal of Fish Biology 99:581–595.
Sand-Jensen K, Mebus JR, 1996. Fine-Scale Patterns of Water Velocity within Macrophyte Patches in Streams. Oikos 76:169–180.
Savino JF, Stein RA, 1982. Predator-Prey Interaction between Largemouth Bass and Bluegills as Influenced by Simulated, Submersed Vegetation. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 111:255–266.
Schiavon A, Comoglio C, Candiotto A, Spairani M, Hölker F, Tarena F, Watz J, Nyqvist D, 2024. Navigating the drought: upstream migration of a small-sized Cypriniformes (Telestes muticellus) in response to drying in a partially intermittent mountain stream. Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst. 6.
Schmutz S, Bakken TH, Friedrich T, Greimel F, Harby A, Jungwirth M, Melcher A, Unfer G, Zeiringer B, 2015. Response of fish communities to hydrological and morphological alterations in hydropeaking rivers of Austria. River research and applications 31:919–930.
Schwinn M, Baktoft H, Aarestrup K, Koed A, 2017. A comparison of the survival and migration of wild and F1-hatchery-reared brown trout (Salmo trutta) smolts traversing an artificial lake. Fisheries Research 196:47–55.
Shi X, Zhao S, Ding C, Jiang W, Kynard B, Liu L, Niu S, Liu D, 2017. Comparison of vertical and horizontal swimming behaviour of the weather loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus. Journal of Fish Biology 91:368–374.
Skov C, Jepsen N, Baktoft H, Jansen T, Pedersen S, Koed A, 2014. Cormorant predation on PIT-tagged lake fish. Journal of Limnology 73:177–186.
Sloat MR, Baker PF, Ligon FK, 2011. Estimating habitat-specific abundances of PIT-tagged juvenile salmonids using mobile antennas: a comparison with standard electrofishing techniques in a small stream. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 31:986–993.
Šmejkal M, Blabolil P, Bartoň D, Duras J, Vejřík L, Sajdlova Z, Kočvara L, Kubečka J, 2019. Sex-specific probability of PIT tag retention in a cyprinid fish. Fisheries Research 219:105325.
Stickler M, Enders EC, Pennell CJ, Cote D, Alfredsen K, Scruton DA, 2008. Stream gradient-related movement and growth of Atlantic salmon parr during winter. Transactions of the American fisheries society 137:371–385.
Stott B, 1967. The Movements and Population Densities of Roach (Rutilus rutilus (L.)) and Gudgeon (Gobio gobio (L.)) in the River Mole. Journal of Animal Ecology 36:407–423.
Thorlacius M, Hellström G, Brodin T, 2015. Behavioral dependent dispersal in the invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus depends on population age. Current Zoology 61:529–542.
Thorstad EB, Rikardsen AH, Alp A, Okland F, 2013. The use of electronic tags in fish research: an overview of fish telemetry methods. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 13:881–896.
Watz J, Calles O, Carlsson N, Collin T, Huusko A, Johnsson J, Nilsson PA, Norrgård J, Nyqvist D, 2019. Wood addition in the hatchery and river environments affects post‐release performance of overwintering brown trout. Freshwater biology.
Weber C, Scheuber H, Nilsson C, Alfredsen KT, 2016. Detection and apparent survival of PIT-tagged stream fish in winter. Ecology and Evolution 6:2536–2547.
Zaccara S, Quadroni S, De Santis V, Vanetti I, Carosi A, Crosa G, Britton JR, Lorenzoni M, 2020. Genetic and phenotypic displacement of an endemic Barbus complex by invasive European barbel Barbus barbus in central Italy. Biological Invasions.
Závorka L, Aldvén D, Näslund J, Höjesjö J, Johnsson JI, 2016. Inactive trout come out at night: behavioral variation, circadian activity, and fitness in the wild. Ecology 97:2223–2231.
Zentner DL, Wolf SL, Brewer SK, Shoup DE, 2021. A Review of Factors Affecting PIT Tag Detection Using Mobile Arrays and Use of Mobile Antennas to Detect PIT‐Tagged Suckers in a Wadeable Ozark Stream. N American J Fish Manag 41:697–710.
Edited by
Pietro Volta, CNR-IRSA Water Research Institute, Verbania-Pallanza, ItalyHow to Cite
“Movement and Habitat Use of Native and Non-Native Small Benthic Fish in a High Conservation Value Agricultural Environment”. 2025. Journal of Limnology 84 (August). https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2025.2216.
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.