Most Northerly Record of the Bighead Goby Ponticola Kessleri (Günther, 1861) in the Elbe River, Germany
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BioInvasions Records (2017) Volume 6, Issue 1: 73–78 Open Access DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2017.6.1.12 © 2017 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2017 REABIC Rapid Communication Most northerly record of the bighead goby Ponticola kessleri (Günther, 1861) in the Elbe River, Germany Ralf Thiel1,*, Sven Schulze2, Mattias Hempel3 and Martin Husemann1 1University of Hamburg, Center of Natural History, Zoological Museum, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany 2Biosphaerium Elbtalaue, Schlossstraße 10, D-21354 Bleckede, Germany 3Landessportfischerverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V., Papenkamp 52, D-24114 Kiel, Germany E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R.Thiel), [email protected] (S.Schulze), [email protected] (M. Hempel), [email protected] (M. Husemann) *Corresponding author Received: 15 September 2016 / Accepted: 28 November 2016 / Published online: 15 December 2016 Handling editor: Michal Janáč Abstract We report the most northerly occurrence of the bighead goby Ponticola kessleri (Günther, 1861) in the Elbe River in Germany, where the fish was first observed in August 2015. Previously, the northernmost record of this Ponto-Caspian gobiid species originated from the lower Rhine River. Twelve specimens of P. kessleri were recorded in the Elbe River between Hamburg and Lauenburg between the 7th of August 2015 and the 13th of June 2016. Detailed morphometric and meristic data for nine specimens are provided. We further provide DNA barcode sequences for two of the specimens and compare these to published records. The newly sequenced specimens and previously published sequences from German and Austrian locations showed no genetic variation for the COI gene. Key words: Gobiidae, Ponto-Caspian goby species, range expansion, morphology, DNA barcoding et al. 2016). According to Ahnelt et al. (1998) and Introduction Jurajda et al. (2005) the western most native distri- bution limit of P. kessleri in the Danube River The natural distribution of the bighead goby corresponded to the mouths of the Rivers Velika Ponticola kessleri (Günther, 1861) is the Black Sea Morava and Nera in Serbia. At the beginning of the basin, especially the brackish zone of the northern 1990s a first range expansion of P. kessleri was and western shores of the Black Sea as well as the reported into the middle Danube (e.g. Roche et al. Danube, Dniester, South Bug and Dnieper drainages 2013). About one decade later the species was found (Svetovidov 1964; Kottelat and Freyhof 2007). The in the Rhine system (Borcherding et al. 2011; van species does not occur in the Azov Sea basin. Kessel et al. 2009; Kalchhauser et al. 2013). This Ponticola kessleri reaches a maximum total length study reports the first records of P. kessleri in the of 200 mm (Miller 1986) and spawns for the first Elbe River, representing the most northerly expansion time at 2 years of age. The spawning period ranges of this species. from March until May (Kottelat and Freyhof 2007). Ponticola kessleri has a wide diet range including Material and methods different mollusks, insect larvae, crustaceans (e.g. mysids, corophiids, amphipods) and small fish On August 7th 2015, the first two specimens of P. (Miller 2004). The species prefers habitats with well kessleri (Supplementary material Table S1, records vegetated bottom and different types of hard stony No. 1 and 2) were caught with a trap in the Elbe substrates, for instance pebbles, but also man-made River, Germany at 53.38306N and 10.47111E (Figure stone packings at groynes and river banks (e.g. 1) by a commercial fisherman (Eckhard Panz, Kottelat and Freyhof 2007; Miller 2004; van Kessel Hohnstorf). These individuals were first passed alive 73 R. Thiel et al. Figure 1. Map with the new records of Ponticola kessleri in the Elbe River. Red spots with numbers indicate the locations of the recorded specimens (for details see Supplementary material Table S1). to the public aquarium of the Biosphaerium Elbtalaue fish collection under catalogue number ZMH 26198. in the city of Bleckede by the Elbe River. While one Another specimen (Table S1, record No. 10) was of the two individuals (Table S1, record No. 2) died transferred to the aquarium of the Biosphaerium during the acclimatization process after 40 days in Elbtalaue in Bleckede for public exhibition. After September 2015, the other specimen (Table S1, morphological analysis, the remaining seven indivi- record No. 1) survived in the public aquarium until duals (Table S1, records No. 3–5, 7–9, 11) were the 29th of May 2016. In June 2016 this individual released into the Elbe River at the place of capture. was transferred deep frozen to the fish collection of Morphometric measurements of all specimens were the Zoological Museum Hamburg (ZMH) and was performed on the left body side following Hubbs preserved in 70% ethanol after defrosting. The and Lagler (1958). Meristic characters were counted specimen was deposited in the ZMH fish collection and fish were identified according to Miller (1986) under catalogue number ZMH 26193. A third and Kottelat and Freyhof (2007). Vertebrae, and the individual of P. kessleri, caught in the tidal Elbe spines and rays of dorsal and anal fins of preserved River at 53.39917N and 10.16222E (Figure 1) in specimens (Table S2, records No. 1 and 6) were August 2015 (Table S1, record No. 12), was reported additionally counted from radiographs (Figure 2) by fisherman Per-Willem Grube via photographs using an X-ray imaging system (Faxitron LX-60). immediately taken after its catch. Sexes were identified following Kornis et al. (2012), In May and June 2016 nine additional specimens based on the shape and length of the urogenital of P. kessleri were caught with a trap in the Elbe papilla. The estimated morphometric measurements and River at 53.42750N and 10.36083E (Figure 1) by meristic counts are presented in Table S2. Further- fisherman E. Panz. One of these individuals died more, the following seven general morphological after its catch (Table S1, record No. 6) and was characters were estimated for specimens 1 and 3–11: preserved in 70% ethanol. After detailed morpholo- (1) predorsal area and nape completely covered by gical analysis the individual was stored in the ZMH ctenoid scales, (2) yellow pelvic fins, (3) first dorsal- 74 Ponticola kessleri in the Elbe River, Germany Figure 2. Ponticola kessleri, ZMH 26193, 187 mm TL, captured from the River Elbe, Germany, at Elbekilometer (Ekm) 575 on August 7th 2015. A) picture and B) X-ray taken after preservation in ethanol; morphometric measurements taken along the body are indicated in A); meristic characters of preserved specimens taken from X-rays are indicated in B). fin without black spot on posterior part, (4) first (Thermo Fisher, Scientific, Bremen, Germany) in a branched ray of second dorsal about as long as total volume of 20 μl using a standard PCR protocol penultimate ray, (5) snout length 1.5–2.0 times orbit with the primers HCO and LCO (Folmer et al. 1994) diameter, (6) pelvic disc reaching 75–95% of distance and an annealing temperature of 50 °C. PCR products between its origin and anus, and (7) pelvic-disc were checked on a 1.5% agarose gel stained with fraenum with angular lobes whose length is 1/6–1/2 GelRed (Biotium, Fremont, CA, USA) and purified of fraenum width at base. A reduced set of four using a mix of Exo I and SAP (Werle et al. 1994). general morphological characters was estimated for The purified products were sequenced in both the specimens 2 (characters 1, 3, 4 and 5) and 12 directions at the core facility of the Ludwig (characters 2, 5, 6 and 7). Maximilian University (LMU, Munich, Germany). Prior to their preservation in 70% ethanol, tissue Forward and reverse sequences were assembled samples were taken from ZMH 26193 and ZMH using Geneious v.6.1.8 (Kearse et al. 2012). The 26198 and preserved in 96% ethanol for molecular newly generated sequences were submitted to NCBI analysis. For molecular identification we amplified GenBank (Accession numbers KX857485, KX857486). the barcoding fragment of the mitochondrial We compared the sequences to database records in Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene. Whole genomic NCBI GenBank using Blast and to the Barcode of DNA was extracted from muscle tissue using a Life Database (BOLD). We then downloaded all standard Chelex protocol (Walsh et al. 1991). PCR records for the species from previous studies was performed with DreamTaq DNA Polymerase (Keskin and Atar 2013; Knebelsberger et al. 2014) 75 R. Thiel et al. from BOLD and GenBank (Table S3) and aligned waterway network (Kalchhauser et al. 2013, Brandner all sequences using Mafft (Katoh and Standley 2014). Therefore, new occurrences of this species in 2013) as implemented in Geneious. The alignment other rivers or channel systems may be expected served as input for PopArt (http://popart.otago.ac.nz) after a relatively short time. Hence, the new record to construct a haplotype network using the TCS of P. kessleri in the Elbe River is not so surprising, algorithm (Clement et al. 2002). especially since Neogobius melanostomus, another Ponto-Caspian goby species, has spread in the Elbe Results and discussion River since 2008 (Hempel and Thiel 2013). Brandner (2014) distinguished a northern, central and southern Brief description and identification of the recorded migration corridor of Ponto-Caspian species in Europe. specimens While the route of P. kessleri seems to follow the southern corridor (Danube–Main–Rhine), extending The ten specimens of P. kessleri for which sex could it to the Elbe River, we cannot dismiss other putative be analysed were represented by three males and sources, including direct transport from the native seven females with total weights between 20.7–73.3 g, area.