Conservation implications of establishment success of the Critically Endangered Twee River redfin ‘Pseudobarbus’ erubescens (Skelton, ) in an artificial impoundment in South Africa

• Published in: Aquatic conservation Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 886 - 889
• Main Authors: Jordaan, Martine S., Walt, Johannes A., Brink, Zanné, Erasmus, Sonja, Weyl, Olaf L. F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2017
• Subjects: abstraction; Adults; Breeding; Climate; Climate change; Cohorts; Conservation; conservation evaluation; Endangered species; Fish; Fishing nets; Fork length; Habitat loss; Impoundments; Juveniles; Nets; red list; Refugia; reservoir; Rivers; Spawning; stream; Threatened species; Water use; South Africa
• ISSN: 1052-7613; 1099-0755
• DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2747

This study reports the first known record of breeding of the Critically Endangered Twee River redfin ‘Pseudobarbus’ erubescens in an artificial impoundment. This followed an introduction of 48 individuals into a 10 ha impoundment within the species' native range more than a decade ago. Sampling the impoundment using three fyke nets set overnight yielded 2838 P. erubescens, which included both juveniles and adults capable of spawning. Fork length measurements of a subsample of 250 individuals ranged from 29 to 125 mm with length cohorts indicating multiple spawning events. This demonstrates that this species can successfully reproduce in lentic environments and suggests that artificial impoundments could be stocked to provide refugia for P. erubescens and other highly threatened small cyprinids while conservation strategies are developed to mitigate against habitat loss resulting from alien fish invasions, increased human use of water, and from climate change in rivers.