Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst. 2020, 421, 45 Knowledge & © S. Shumka et al., Published by EDP Sciences 2020 Management of Aquatic https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2020036 Ecosystems Journal fully supported by Office www.kmae-journal.org français de la biodiversité RESEARCH PAPER Ecological particularities of the critically endangered killifish Valencia letourneuxi and its spring-fed habitats: a long-lost endemic species of south Albania★ Spase Shumka1,*, Eleni Kalogianni2, Radek Šanda3, Jasna Vukić4, Laura Shumka5 and Brian Zimmerman6 1 Department of Biotechnology and Food, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food, Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania 2 Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, 190 13 Anavyssos, Greece 3 Department of Zoology, National Museum, Václavskénám. 68, 11000 Prague 1, Czech Republic 4 Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague 2, Czech Republic 5 Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Applied Economics, Albanian University, Tirana, Albania 6 Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, UK Received: 26 July 2020 / Accepted: 2 November 2020 Abstract – The southernmost part of Albania, the Butrinti Lake area is characterised by a highly diverse freshwater fish community with a high degree of regional endemism. This study focuses on the Corfu killifish (or toothcarp) Valencia letourneuxi (Sauvage, 1880) that is endemic to the western part of the Ionian Ecoregion, and reported in Albania in the past from a single location, Lake Butrinti. Recently, in June 2019, the species has been rediscovered at a very low population density (only 11 individuals collected) in a spring-fed stream in the vicinity of Lake Butrinti. Other fish present together with V. letourneuxi were the native Telestes pleurobipunctatus, Barbus peloponnesius, Anguilla anguilla and Pelasgus thesproticus and the translocated Alburnus sp. Our findings provide useful insights into the ecology and conservation of a Critically Endangered, range-restricted species and its habitats. The Corfu killifish presence correlated negatively with water depth and positively with aquatic vegetation coverage. The conservation implications of our findings both for the target species and the co-occurring fish fauna in its spring-fed habitats are discussed. Keywords: Valencia letourneuxi / Lake Butrinti / conservation / priority species / Critically Endangered Résumé – Particularités écologiques de Valencia letourneuxi, gravement menacé, et de ses habitats alimentés par des sources: une espèce endémique du sud de l’Albanie, disparue depuis longtemps. La partie la plus méridionale de l’Albanie, la région du lac Butrinti, se caractérise par une communauté de poissons d’eau douce très diversifiée, avec un degré élevé d’endémisme régional. Cette étude se concentre sur le fondule de Corfou Valencia letourneuxi (Sauvage, 1880) qui est endémique à la partie occidentale de l’écorégion ionienne, et qui était autrefois signalé en Albanie à partir d’un seul endroit, le lac de Butrinti. Récemment, en juin 2019, l’espèce a été redécouverte à une très faible densité de population (seulement 11 individus collectés) dans un ruisseau alimenté par une source, à proximité du lac Butrinti. Les autres poissons présents avec V. letourneuxi étaient les espèces indigènes Telestes pleurobipunctatus, Barbus peloponnesius, Anguilla anguilla, Pelasgus thesproticus et l’Alburnus sp. Nos résultats fournissent des informations utiles sur l’écologie et la conservation d’une espèce en danger critique d’extinction et dont l’aire de répartition est limitée, ainsi que sur ses habitats. La présence du fondule de Corfou est corrélée négativement à la profondeur de l’eau et positivement à la couverture de végétation aquatique. Les implications de nos conclusions en matière de conservation, tant pour l’espèce cible que pour la faune piscicole co-occurrente dans ses habitats alimentés par une source, sont discutées. Mots clés : Valencia letourneuxi / lac Butrinti / conservation / espèces prioritaires / en danger critique d’extinction ★ The affiliations of the co-authors Radek Šanda and Jasna Vukić have been corrected. *Corresponding author: [email protected] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY-ND (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. S. Shumka et al.: Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst. 2020, 421, 45 1 Introduction Data on freshwater fish assemblages provide a unique view into freshwater biota, establishing a much-needed baseline for The Mediterranean region has long been recognised as a monitoring freshwater ecosystem health and for the delinea- fi globally important biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al., 2000; tion of appropriate conservation measures. More speci cally, fi Geiger et al., 2014) with the Lake Butrinti area listed among according to Sutela et al. (2010), sh are not distributed the key biodiversity areas of the Mediterranean (Darwall et al., randomly in riverine ecosystems but exhibit a spatially varying fl 2014), as well as a National Park, RAMSAR site and assemblage structure, in uenced by habitat conditions and fi fi UNESCO site, due to the conservation status and the high local anthropogenic pressures. Furthermore, classi cations of sh species endemicity. Currently the main threats to the assemblages are critically important for biodiversity conser- fi freshwater ecosystems of Albania (and the Lake Butrinti vation, since individual sh assemblage or community units fi ecosystem) are hydropower development, water abstraction may warrant speci c conservation actions (Angermeier and fi for agro-industry, land use changes in the upper parts of the Winston, 2003). Fish assemblage classi cation is also fi associated catchments, and tourism in the coastal areas dependent on accurate knowledge of sh taxonomy, which (Shumka, 2019). Invasive species in the watershed also present is an active research area in recent years, especially in globally a significant threat to the native fauna (Shumka, 2019). The important biodiversity areas, such as the Balkans (Kottelat and Lake Butrinti ecosystem hosts a unique freshwater ichthyo- Freyhof, 2007). fauna comprising numerous endemic species with restricted This study focused on the River Pavllo catchment, Lake distribution (Crivelli and Maitland, 1995), with more than half Butrint drainage, an isolated Mediterranean catchment in the of these species currently considered to be threatened (Darwall Ionian Sea slope in southern Albania. It provides data on the et al., 2014). current population status of a Critically Endangered, range- The Family Valenciidae is the only fish family endemic to restricted freshwater species in Albania. It also assesses ’ fi Europe, inhabiting the Mediterranean basin (Freyhof et al., various aspects of species interactions and sh community 2014). Valencia is the only genus in the Valenciidae family assemblage, to help build baseline knowledge for future (Myers, 1928; Parenti, 1981; Bianco and Miller 1989; Seegers biodiversity and river conservation initiatives. 1980; Vilwock et al. 1982; Woeltjes 1982; Woeltjes 1988), with three species known, i.e. the Valencia toothcarp V. 2 Material and methods hispanica (Valenciennes, 1846), described from Catalonia, Spain, with distribution in the Eastern Spanish coastline (Oliva 2.1 Study area et al., 2009; Oliva 1965), the Corfu toothcarp V. Letourneuxi (Sauvage, 1880) described from Corfu Island, Greece, with The study area is situated in southern Albania, at the distribution in north-western Greece and southern Albania, and borders with Greece. It includes the wider geographical area its sister species, the recently described Peloponnese toothcarp surrounding Butrinti Lake, where V. letourneuxi presence has Valencia robertae Freyhof, Kärst & Geige, 2014, that been reported previously (Oliva, 1961). It includes Lakes encompasses the most southern populations of the genus in Butrinti and Buffi, the River Pavllo and its tributaries, Greece, previously considered as V. letourneuxi. Due to the communication canals, and small spring-fed streams (Figs. 1 very restricted distribution of V. letourneuxi and V. robertae the and 4, Tab. 1). Surveys were conducted during May−August continuing deterioration of their habitats and the extinction or 2019 in a total of eight locations in the basin. decline of extant populations (Kalogianni et al., 2010; Barbieri et al. 2002; Daoulas 2003; Dill 1993), V. letourneuxi the 2.2 Data collection species has been included in the lists of the Bern Convention as an endangered and strictly protected species, and has been Field sampling was conducted using a D-shaped hand net characterised as a priority species for conservation in Annex II and seine nets, depending on the density of aquatic vegetation. of the European Union Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC. It was Water flow (m/s), substrate composition structure, depth (m), also classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, based on width (m) and vegetation cover (%) were recorded. Water restricted distribution, suspected population decline and physical-chemical parameters, i.e. conductivity (mS/cm), projected decline in the coming decade, as well as due to temperature (°C), pH and dissolved oxygen (mg/L) were