New Insights into the Distribution, Physiology and Life Histories of South American Galaxiid Fishes, and Potential Threats to This Unique Fauna

South American galaxiids occupy both Patagonia and the ichthyogeographic Chilean Province, encompassing glacial Andean deep lakes, shallow plateau lakes, reservoirs, short Pacific rivers and long Atlantic rivers. The total fish fauna includes 29 species, comprising Neotropical fishes (siluriforms an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inDiversity (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 178
Main Authors Cussac, Víctor Enrique, Barrantes, María Eugenia, Boy, Claudia Clementina, Górski, Konrad, Habit, Evelyn, Lattuca, María Eugenia, Rojo, Javier Hernán
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2020
Subjects
Aplochiton
Aquaculture
Brachygalaxias
Carp
Changing environments
Climate change
Colonization
Energy
Fauna
Fish
Food chains
Food contamination
Food webs
Freshwater fish
Galaxias
Galaxy distribution
Gondwana
Introduced species
Lakes
Life history
Metabolism
Physiology
Population
River networks
Rivers
Salmonids
South America
Species
Streams
temperature
Trout
Water pollution
Water temperature
South America
Chile
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:South American galaxiids occupy both Patagonia and the ichthyogeographic Chilean Province, encompassing glacial Andean deep lakes, shallow plateau lakes, reservoirs, short Pacific rivers and long Atlantic rivers. The total fish fauna includes 29 species, comprising Neotropical fishes (siluriforms and characids), galaxiids, percichthyids, atherinopsids and mugilids, two lamprey species, and several exotic fishes (salmonids, Gambusia spp. and common carp). The family Galaxiidae shares a common ancestry with the Gondwanan temperate fish fauna, played a major role in the post-glacial colonization of Andean lakes and streams, and contributes key species to the food webs. Galaxiid species occupy an enormous latitudinal gradient, show a wide variety of life history patterns and are the southernmost native freshwater fishes of the world. Knowledge of South American galaxiids has improved notably, but new challenges arise due to climate change, biological invasions, damming, aquaculture and contamination. In this changing environment, the future of South American galaxiids should be carefully considered as a legacy of the old Gondwana and a unique attribute of the freshwaters of southern South America.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d12050178