Changes in Fish Taxonomy Affect Freshwater Biogeographical Regionalisations: Insights from Greece

Water

AthanasiosS. Kallimanis¹  Stamatis Zogaris²  AlcibiadesN. Economou²  DimitraC. Bobori³  Theocharis Vavalidis³ 

[1] Department of Ecology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos, 19013 Attiki, Greece;Laboratory of Ichthyology, Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;

关键词: freshwater ecoregions;    fish;    biogeography;    cluster analyses;    Balkans;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w11091743

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Freshwater fishes are key indicators for delineating biogeographical maps worldwide. However, controversy in regional-scale ichthyogeographic boundaries still persists, especially in areas of high species endemicity, such as in Greece. One problem concerns the taxonomy of the fishes because there have been extensive changes, mainly due to an increased splitting of species in recent years in Europe. Here, we explore why ichthyogeographic boundary disagreements and uncertainties in region-scale biogeographical units persist. We compare cluster analyses of river basin fish fauna in Greece using two taxonomic datasets: the older fish taxonomy (from 1991) and the current taxonomy that now follows the phylogenetic species concept (PSC), which has become widely established in Europe after 2007. Cluster analyses using the older fish taxonomy depicts only two major biogeographical regional divisions, while the current taxonomy defines four major regional divisions in mainland Greece. Interestingly, some older maps from the pre-PSC taxonomy era also similarly show four ichthyogeographic divisions in Greece and we can assume that the older biogeographical work did not solely use numerical taxonomy but followed an expert-guided synthesis; the older regional definitions have persisted quite well despite radical changes in Europe’s fish taxonomy. Through the prism of biodiversity conservation planning, we hope this review may help identify ways to help standardize policy-relevant biogeographical mapping.

【 授权许可】

Unknown