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University of Cape Town (UCT) in Terms of the Non-Exclusive License Granted to UCT by the Author The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town CONSERVATION OF THE NATIVE FRESHWATER FISHES OF THE CAPE FLORISTIC REGION (SOUTH AFRICA): MANAGEMENT OF NON-NATIVE SPECIES Sean Murray Marr M.Sc. Eng (Chemical), 2003 University of Cape Town UniversityThesis Presented of for theCape Degree of Town DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Zoology UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN December 2011 Supervisors: Associate Professor Jenny Day Professor Charles Griffiths Professor Paul Skelton i DECLARATION I declare that the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own and that where assistance from others has been accepted, this is fully acknowledged. Two papers have been published during the preparation of this thesis, and a third has been accepted for publication. Text from these papers has been included in the text of this thesis. I was the lead author on each of these papers and took responsibility for the data analysis. The contribution of my co-authors to these papers is acknowledged. Marr, S.M., L.M.E. Sutcliffe, J.A. Day, C.L. Griffiths and P.H. Skelton. (2009). Conserving the fishes of the Twee River, Cederberg: revisiting the issues. African Journal of Aquatic Science 34:77-85. Marr, S.M., M.P. Marchetti, J.D. Olden, D.L. Morgan, E. García-Berthou, I. Arismendi, J.A. Day, C.L. Griffiths and P.H. Skelton. (2010). Freshwater fish introductions in mediterranean- climate regions: are there commonalities in the conservation problem? Diversity and Distributions 16:606-619. Marr, S.M., N.D. Impson and D. Tweddle. (in press). Review of the proposal to eradicate non- native fish from priority river areas in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. African Journal of Aquatic Science 37. I was one of the supervisors for Owen Davies’ B.Sc. Honours project. This work has been used as a reference in thisUniversity thesis. Selected studies of included Cape in Davies’ Town work were repeated for this thesis. Davies, O.R. (2007). Threats to the Successful Recovery of the Critically Endangered Twee River Redfin (Barbus erubescens) in the Suurvlei River, Western Cape, South Africa. B. Sc. Honours (Unpublished) University of Cape Town, Cape Town. ii Name: Sean Murray Marr Thesis Title: Conservation of the Native Freshwater Fishes of the Cape Floristic Region (South Africa): Management of Non-Native Species. Date: December 2011 ABSTRACT Freshwater fishes are among the most threatened taxa in the world. Increasing demand for freshwater, habitat degradation and the introduction of non-native species, will continue to place pressure on the remaining native freshwater fishes. A meta-analysis estimated that more than 90% of river habitat in three major catchments has been invaded by non-native fish and that catchments covering less than 1% of Cape Floristic Region have no recorded non-native fish introductions, the major rivers containing 10 or more non-native species. The majority of the native fishes continue to be threatened by the presence of non-native fish. Profound taxonomic and functional changes to freshwater fish assemblages in Mediterranean- climate regions resulting from non-native fish introductions were identified. Phylogenetic preference was exhibited for species selected with more than 90% of introductions originating from five taxonomic orders. The pathways for introductions were consistent across all Mediterranean-climate regions. The results show strong evidence of on-going taxonomic and functional homogenization of freshwater fish faunas. Characteristics suitable for risk assessment databases in Mediterranean-climate regions were identified. The difficulties associated with attempting to identify the reasons for the decline of a critically endangered fish, even for a relatively simple system, were demonstrated. Water quality, pesticide exposure, instream and riparian zone habitat, and dietary overlap between native and non-native species were explored. The results of the study were inconclusive. The results do indicate that native and non-native species can co-occur in the complex habitat of one tributary, but not in the simpleUniversity habitat of the other. of Cape Town A social survey of freshwater anglers showed that angling for non-native species is important to the anglers and that they are not likely to switch to angling for native species, with the possible exception of Clanwilliam yellowfish. The anglers considered the conservation of native fishes extremely important but less than half believed that the conservation authority were doing a good job in conserving native fishes. The results indicate that support for the conservation authority’s proposed piscicide project is low but that it could increase support for conservation projects by using large cyprinids as flagship species. Many options are available to the conservation authority to improve their efforts to manage non-native fishes in the region. The most important of these are the delineation of roles and responsibilities and the compilation of a comprehensive conservation plan. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my parents Mr Murray Stuart Marr (1936-1994) and Mrs Wendy Ann Marr (nee Stronach), future generations who will live in what we now call the Cape Floristic Region and the native freshwater fishes of the Cape Floristic Region. Dad, I know that you are proud of me and, although you did not express it much while you were with us, I know that you have taken great pride in all my achievements. I was honoured to have you as a father. I know that you did not fail me in anything and gave to me, and my siblings, only your best. You have given me a picture of a man who I can aspire to be and have shown us the true meaning of a successful marriage. I love and respect you. We all miss the sunshine of your laughter in our lives, but we are also aware that you are not far away. Mom, you are love personified. The love you have shown me is beyond my full recognition. I am grateful to have you as my mother. Thank you for your belief in me and the encouragement you have given me through the last six years. Yes, it has been tough on all of us and there were times I felt guilty about it, but your faith in me has helped me through. Thank you for staying with us. The dream you had of me is becoming a reality. Now you can see me in a red gown. I love you and want you to know that I do. To the future generations, may you too have the pleasure of knowing the native freshwater fishes of the Cape Floristic Region and the organisms that they will evolve to. May we, the current generation, take responsibility for our actions, and those of previous generation,, so that our children’s children’s children’s children may know of the native fishes of this region. To the native freshwaterUniversity fishes of the Cape Floristicof Cape Region, may Townyou live long and prosper in clean water free from non-native fishes. I want to give back to you all the waters that once were yours; to evolve as a gift to future generations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aims of this Thesis ............................................................................................................. 10 1.3 Thesis Outline .................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2. INTRODUCTION OF NON-NATIVE FISH – A LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 15 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 15 2.2 Socio-Economic Drivers for Freshwater Fish Introductions .............................................. 23 2.3 Vectors and Pathways for Freshwater Fish Introductions .................................................. 26 2.4 Landscape Factors Threatening Native Fish Populations .................................................. 31 2.5 Biotic Homogenisation ....................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 3. THE CAPE FLORISTIC REGION AND ITS FRESHWATER FISH ................ 45 3.1 The Cape Floristic Region ................................................................................................. 45 3.2 Freshwater Fishes of the Cape Floristic Region ................................................................
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