Round Goby
Encyclopedia
The round goby, Neogobius melanostomus, is an euryhaline
bottom-dwelling goby
of the family
Gobiidae, native to central Eurasia
including the Black Sea
and the Caspian Sea
.
and rivers of its basin. In the Black Sea
and Sea of Azov
along all coasts and fresh water
s of their basins. In the coastal lakes and lagoons. In the rivers of Crimea
and Caucasus
: Mezib, Pshada, Vulan, Kodori
, Çoruh
. In the Caspian Sea
presented by subspecies
Neogobius melanostomus affinis.
Since 1990 the round goby registered as introduced
in the North American Great Lakes
and different parts of Europe
.
Round gobies are euryhaline (salt-tolerant) and are found in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. In habits the water with mineralization of 18-24%, presented in fresh water
s. Rather common on shelf
s with sandy and rocky bottoms with low silting, on the depth from 1-2 to 10–17 m.
ly as well) and are believed to detect prey only while stationary. The primary diet of round gobies includes mollusks, crustacean
s, worm
s, fish eggs, small fish, and insect
larva
e.
Adult round gobies feed mainly on mollusks. At spring, the main items in its diet in the Sasyk Lagoon
are Hydrobia
, Cerastoderma
, Abra. In the same season near the Romania
n coasts of the Black Sea
the round goby feeds on polychaete
s, crustaceans (Idothea balthica, Pachygrapsus marmoratus
, Xantho poressa
, etc.) and juvenile gobies. Near Sevastopol
the round goby feeds on molluscs (Mytilaster lineatus
, Abra spp.), but near Karadag
except molluscs (Cerastoderma
, Brachiodontes) were fishes.
In the Gulf of Odessa
in the diet of the round goby are 23 items. Mytilus galloprovincialis, Setia pulcherrima
, Mytilaster lineatus
, Lentidium mediterraneum, Idothea balthica, and Alitta (Nereis) succinea
dominate in spring. In summer are mainly Sphaeroma pulchellum and L. mediterraneum. Mussels M. galloprovincialis and M. lineatus
have big importance in the diet in all seasons. The polychaete
s are most elected component of benthos
.
parental care. Females can spawn
up to six times during the spawning season, which spans April to September. Males will migrate from the deeper water, where overwintering occurs, into shallower breeding grounds during the beginning of the mating season. The males are territorial and will guard nests of eggs and newly hatched young, resulting in successful hatch rates of up to 95%. Its eggs are 4 mm by 2.2 mm in size. Female
round gobies reach sexual maturity in 1 to 2 years while males do so in 3 to 4 years. Gobies in the Laurentian Great Lakes typically mature up to 1 year earlier than in their native habitat in Europe
. The male releases a steroid sex pheromone that attracts females to their territory. The male may also use visual displays, such as changing its color from beige to black and its posture, along with sounds, during courtship. The females deposit their eggs in male-guarded crevices between rocks. Egg clutches can contain up to 5,000 eggs. Males defend these eggs from predators, and continuously fan them to provide the developing embryos with oxygenated water.
The species was accidentally introduced into the North America
n Great Lakes
by way of ballast water transfer in cargo ships. First discovered in North America
in the St. Clair River
in 1990, the round goby is considered an invasive species
with significant ecological and economic impact; the consequences are quite complex as the fish both competes with native species and provides an abundant source of food for them while consuming other invasive species. An aggressive fish, the round goby outcompetes native species such as the sculpin
and logperch for food (such as snails and mussels), shelter and nesting sites, substantially reducing their numbers. Round gobies are also voracious predators of eggs of native fish, many important to the angling industry. The goby's robust ability to survive in degraded environmental conditions has helped to increase its competitive advantage compared to native species. Many native predatory fish such as smallmouth bass
, largemouth bass
, walleye
, salmon and trout have begun to prey on round gobies. These game fish
feed so heavily on the abundant gobies that a bait company, called Culprit, has created a soft plastic bait called the "Great Lakes Goby" to exploit this behavior. The incorporation of the round goby into native foodwebs, coupled with the goby's ability to consume large numbers of invasive mussels (zebra
and quagga
), may result in greater bioaccumulation of toxins such as PCBs higher in the food chain, since these mussels filter-feed and are known to accumulate persistent contaminants. However, this is partly beneficial because even though they do not reduce the population of zebra mussels, they do control their population. Hence, it prevents a large scale spread of the zebra mussel, which is also an invasive species in the Great Lakes.
An unintended benefit of the round goby's introduction is that the Lake Erie Watersnake, once listed as a threatened species
, has found it to be a tasty addition to its diet. A recent study found the introduced fish now accounts for up to 90% of the snake's diet. The new food supply means that the water snake is now staging a comeback.
The round goby is also considered invasive
in parts of Europe
. The processes of invasion
of the round goby in Europe
were started by its introduction to the Gulf of Gdańsk
(Southern Baltic Sea
) in 1990. Recently the cases of the round goby invasion
are mentioned in the Aegean Sea
, in the different parts of the Baltic Sea
, North-Sea
basin, and basins of the rivers Danube
and Rhine. In the German
part of the Baltic Sea
this fish was first noted near the Rügen
Island
. Now it is distributed along all south-western Baltic Sea
coast includes the Stettiner Haff (Szczecin Lagoon), the Unterwarnow
(the Estuary
of the Warnow
River
), the mouth of the Trave
River
, and in the Nord-Ostsee (Kiel) Kanal
.
are registered in the round goby in the native area. Most abundant parasites of the Black-Sea round goby are metacercariae of trematodes of Heterophyidae
family
, such as Cryptocotyle concavum, C. lingua, and Pygidiopsis genata. The trematodes C. lingua and P. genata can infest human. In the 1950s, along the coast of the Gulf of Taganrog (Sea of Azov
) the round roby was registred as a host
of epizootic
of nematodes, Tetrameres fissispina and Streptocara crassicauda, which were fatal to ducklings.
In the Gulf of Gdańsk
, Baltic Sea
, the parasite fauna of the invasive
round goby consists of 12 species
. The core of the parasite fauna comprises two species of trematode metacercariae: C. concavum and Diplostomum spathaceum. Also, in the Baltic Sea the round goby is paratenic host of the invasive
nematode
Anguillicoloides crassus. In the Vistula Lagoon
, the most abundant parasites of the round goby are nematodes Hysterothylacium aduncum and A. crassus.
25 species
of parasites
are noted in the round goby in the Great Lakes
. The trematode D. spathaceum is most abundant core species overall. Also the cestode Proteocephalus sp. and the trematode Neochasmus umbellus are rather abundant. The round goby may circumvent more of the metacercariae of N. umbellus from completing their life cycle
. The parasite “load” on the invasive
gobies in the Great Lakes
appears relatively low in comparison with their native habitats, lending support to the "enemy release hypothesis".
Euryhaline
Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. An example of a euryhaline fish is the molly which can live in fresh, brackish, or salt water. The European shore crab is an example of a euryhaline invertebrate that can live in salt and brackish water...
bottom-dwelling goby
Goby
The gobies form the family Gobiidae, which is one of the largest families of fish, with more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm in length...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Gobiidae, native to central Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
including the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
.
Characteristics
Round gobies are small, soft-bodied fish, characterized by a distinctive black spot on the first dorsal fin. Their eyes are large and protrude slightly from the top of the head and, like most gobies, round gobies have pelvic fins which are fused into a single pelvic suction disc on the belly of the fish. Round gobies range in length from 4 to 10 inches (maximum of 9.7 inches (24.6 cm), and in weight from .176 ounces to 2.816 ounces, increasing as they age. Male round gobies are larger than females. Juvenile round gobies (less than one year old) are grey. Upon maturation, round gobies become mottled with gray, black, brown, and olive green markings. Adult male round gobies turn inky black during the spawning season and develop swollen cheeks. Male and female round gobies are easily differentiated through the shape of their urogenital papilla, which is white to grey, long and pointed in males, and brown, short and blunt-tipped in females.Range/Habitat
Widspread in the Sea of MarmaraSea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
and rivers of its basin. In the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
along all coasts and fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
s of their basins. In the coastal lakes and lagoons. In the rivers of Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
and Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
: Mezib, Pshada, Vulan, Kodori
Kodori River
The Kodori, also known as Kodor, is one of the two largest rivers of Abkhazia, along with the Bzyb. It is formed by the joining of the rivers Sak'en and Gwandra. The Kodori is first among Abkhazia's rivers with respect to average annual discharge and drainage basin area , and second after the...
, Çoruh
Çoruh River
The Çoruh River or Ch'orokhi River rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, Ispir, Yusufeli, and Artvin, along the Kelkit-Çoruh Fault, before flowing into Georgia, where it reaches the Black Sea just south of Batumi and a few kilometers north of...
. In the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
presented by subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
Neogobius melanostomus affinis.
Since 1990 the round goby registered as introduced
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in the North American Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
and different parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Round gobies are euryhaline (salt-tolerant) and are found in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. In habits the water with mineralization of 18-24%, presented in fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
s. Rather common on shelf
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
s with sandy and rocky bottoms with low silting, on the depth from 1-2 to 10–17 m.
Feeding
Round gobies usually feed nocturnally (but have been observed to feed diurnalDiurnal animal
Diurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...
ly as well) and are believed to detect prey only while stationary. The primary diet of round gobies includes mollusks, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s, fish eggs, small fish, and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e.
Adult round gobies feed mainly on mollusks. At spring, the main items in its diet in the Sasyk Lagoon
Sasyk Lagoon
Sasyk, or Kunduk , is a lagoon in the southern Ukraine, near the Danube delta. The area of the lagoon is 210 km2, depth up to 3.9 m....
are Hydrobia
Hydrobia
Hydrobia is a genus of very small brackish water snails with a gill and an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Hydrobiidae...
, Cerastoderma
Cerastoderma
Cerastoderma is a genus of marine bivalves, which includes the common cockle C. edule.-Species:Extant and fossil species include:* Cerastoderma edule - common cockle...
, Abra. In the same season near the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n coasts of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
the round goby feeds on polychaete
Polychaete
The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
s, crustaceans (Idothea balthica, Pachygrapsus marmoratus
Pachygrapsus marmoratus
Pachygrapsus marmoratus is a species of crab, sometimes called the marbled rock crab or marbled crab, which lives in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is dark violet brown, with yellow marbling, and with a body up to long. It is an omnivore, feeding on algae...
, Xantho poressa
Xantho poressa
Xantho poressa is a species of crab from the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is one of four species in the genus Xantho....
, etc.) and juvenile gobies. Near Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
the round goby feeds on molluscs (Mytilaster lineatus
Mytilaster lineatus
Mytilaster lineatus is marine mussels, distributed in European waters. Common in Greece, Russia, Ukraine . Mentioned as intriduced species in the Caspian Sea.- External links :* * * *...
, Abra spp.), but near Karadag
Kara Dag Mountain (Crimea)
The Kara Dag is located in Crimea. It is a volcano.There is also a nature reserve: Kara Dag Nature Reserve.-External links:*http://www.blacksea-crimea.com/Places/Kara-Dag.html...
except molluscs (Cerastoderma
Cerastoderma
Cerastoderma is a genus of marine bivalves, which includes the common cockle C. edule.-Species:Extant and fossil species include:* Cerastoderma edule - common cockle...
, Brachiodontes) were fishes.
In the Gulf of Odessa
Gulf of Odessa
Gulf of Odessa, or Odessa Bay, is a part of the Black Sea between cape E in North and Cape Velyky Fontan in South. The coasts of the gulf have capes Langeron and Malyi Fontan...
in the diet of the round goby are 23 items. Mytilus galloprovincialis, Setia pulcherrima
Setia pulcherrima
Setia pulcherrima is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Rissoidae....
, Mytilaster lineatus
Mytilaster lineatus
Mytilaster lineatus is marine mussels, distributed in European waters. Common in Greece, Russia, Ukraine . Mentioned as intriduced species in the Caspian Sea.- External links :* * * *...
, Lentidium mediterraneum, Idothea balthica, and Alitta (Nereis) succinea
Alitta succinea
Alitta succinea is a species of marine annelid in the Nereididae family...
dominate in spring. In summer are mainly Sphaeroma pulchellum and L. mediterraneum. Mussels M. galloprovincialis and M. lineatus
Mytilaster lineatus
Mytilaster lineatus is marine mussels, distributed in European waters. Common in Greece, Russia, Ukraine . Mentioned as intriduced species in the Caspian Sea.- External links :* * * *...
have big importance in the diet in all seasons. The polychaete
Polychaete
The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
s are most elected component of benthos
Benthos
Benthos is the community of organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone. This community lives in or near marine sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the foreshore, out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths.Many organisms...
.
Reproduction
Round gobies exhibit maleMale
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
parental care. Females can spawn
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
up to six times during the spawning season, which spans April to September. Males will migrate from the deeper water, where overwintering occurs, into shallower breeding grounds during the beginning of the mating season. The males are territorial and will guard nests of eggs and newly hatched young, resulting in successful hatch rates of up to 95%. Its eggs are 4 mm by 2.2 mm in size. Female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
round gobies reach sexual maturity in 1 to 2 years while males do so in 3 to 4 years. Gobies in the Laurentian Great Lakes typically mature up to 1 year earlier than in their native habitat in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The male releases a steroid sex pheromone that attracts females to their territory. The male may also use visual displays, such as changing its color from beige to black and its posture, along with sounds, during courtship. The females deposit their eggs in male-guarded crevices between rocks. Egg clutches can contain up to 5,000 eggs. Males defend these eggs from predators, and continuously fan them to provide the developing embryos with oxygenated water.
Invasive species
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
by way of ballast water transfer in cargo ships. First discovered in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in the St. Clair River
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan...
in 1990, the round goby is considered an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
with significant ecological and economic impact; the consequences are quite complex as the fish both competes with native species and provides an abundant source of food for them while consuming other invasive species. An aggressive fish, the round goby outcompetes native species such as the sculpin
Sculpin
A Sculpin is a fish that belongs to the order Scorpaeniformes, suborder Cottoidei and superfamily Cottoidea, that contains 11 families, 149 genera, and 756 species...
and logperch for food (such as snails and mussels), shelter and nesting sites, substantially reducing their numbers. Round gobies are also voracious predators of eggs of native fish, many important to the angling industry. The goby's robust ability to survive in degraded environmental conditions has helped to increase its competitive advantage compared to native species. Many native predatory fish such as smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
, largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, salmon and trout have begun to prey on round gobies. These game fish
Game fish
Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly...
feed so heavily on the abundant gobies that a bait company, called Culprit, has created a soft plastic bait called the "Great Lakes Goby" to exploit this behavior. The incorporation of the round goby into native foodwebs, coupled with the goby's ability to consume large numbers of invasive mussels (zebra
Zebra mussel
The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a small freshwater mussel. This species was originally native to the lakes of southeast Russia being first described in 1769 by a German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga and Dnieper rivers. They are still found nearby, as Pontic and Caspian...
and quagga
Quagga mussel
The quagga mussel is a subspecies of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk.It is one of seven Dreissena species and has an average life span of 3 to 5 years....
), may result in greater bioaccumulation of toxins such as PCBs higher in the food chain, since these mussels filter-feed and are known to accumulate persistent contaminants. However, this is partly beneficial because even though they do not reduce the population of zebra mussels, they do control their population. Hence, it prevents a large scale spread of the zebra mussel, which is also an invasive species in the Great Lakes.
An unintended benefit of the round goby's introduction is that the Lake Erie Watersnake, once listed as a threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
, has found it to be a tasty addition to its diet. A recent study found the introduced fish now accounts for up to 90% of the snake's diet. The new food supply means that the water snake is now staging a comeback.
The round goby is also considered invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The processes of invasion
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
of the round goby in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
were started by its introduction to the Gulf of Gdańsk
Gdansk Bay
Gdańsk Bay or the Bay of Gdańsk or Danzig Bay is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent port city of Gdańsk in Poland and is sometimes referred to as a gulf.-Geography:...
(Southern Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
) in 1990. Recently the cases of the round goby invasion
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
are mentioned in the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, in the different parts of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, North-Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
basin, and basins of the rivers Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
and Rhine. In the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
part of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
this fish was first noted near the Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
Island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
. Now it is distributed along all south-western Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast includes the Stettiner Haff (Szczecin Lagoon), the Unterwarnow
Unterwarnow
Unterwarnow is the estuary of the Warnow River in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. Connected with the Baltic Sea in Warnemunde. On the coasts of the estuary, the City of Rostock is located....
(the Estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of the Warnow
Warnow
The Warnow is a river in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. It flows into the Baltic Sea near the town of Rostock, in its borough Warnemünde....
River
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
), the mouth of the Trave
Trave
The Trave is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 124 kilometres long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Oldesloe, and Lübeck, where it is linked to the...
River
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
, and in the Nord-Ostsee (Kiel) Kanal
Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal , known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal until 1948, is a long canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.The canal links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula....
.
Parasites
In total, 52 parasite speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
are registered in the round goby in the native area. Most abundant parasites of the Black-Sea round goby are metacercariae of trematodes of Heterophyidae
Heterophyidae
Heterophyidae is a family of intestinal flukes of the class trematoda.Tegument covered by spines. Oral sucker not armed or armed by cyrcumoral spines. Pharynx presented. Genital synus presented. Ventral and genital suckers ussualy not combined. Cirrus and bursa absent. Two testes located in...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, such as Cryptocotyle concavum, C. lingua, and Pygidiopsis genata. The trematodes C. lingua and P. genata can infest human. In the 1950s, along the coast of the Gulf of Taganrog (Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
) the round roby was registred as a host
Host (biology)
In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...
of epizootic
Epizootic
In epizoology, an epizootic is a disease that appears as new cases in a given animal population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is "expected" based on recent experience . Epidemic is the analogous term applied to human populations...
of nematodes, Tetrameres fissispina and Streptocara crassicauda, which were fatal to ducklings.
In the Gulf of Gdańsk
Gdansk Bay
Gdańsk Bay or the Bay of Gdańsk or Danzig Bay is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent port city of Gdańsk in Poland and is sometimes referred to as a gulf.-Geography:...
, Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, the parasite fauna of the invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
round goby consists of 12 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. The core of the parasite fauna comprises two species of trematode metacercariae: C. concavum and Diplostomum spathaceum. Also, in the Baltic Sea the round goby is paratenic host of the invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
nematode
Nematode
The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
Anguillicoloides crassus. In the Vistula Lagoon
Vistula Lagoon
The Vistula Lagoon is a fresh water lagoon on the Baltic Sea separated from Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. It is sometimes known as the Vistula Bay or Vistula Gulf. The modern German name, Frisches Haff, is derived from an earlier form, Friesisches Haff. Both this term and the earlier Polish...
, the most abundant parasites of the round goby are nematodes Hysterothylacium aduncum and A. crassus.
25 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of parasites
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
are noted in the round goby in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The trematode D. spathaceum is most abundant core species overall. Also the cestode Proteocephalus sp. and the trematode Neochasmus umbellus are rather abundant. The round goby may circumvent more of the metacercariae of N. umbellus from completing their life cycle
Biological life cycle
A life cycle is a period involving all different generations of a species succeeding each other through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction...
. The parasite “load” on the invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
gobies in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
appears relatively low in comparison with their native habitats, lending support to the "enemy release hypothesis".
External links
- InvadingSpecies.com, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
- CRS Report for Congress: Harmful Non-Native Species
- USGS Non-indigenous species
- Species Profile- Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural LibraryUnited States National Agricultural LibraryThe United States National Agricultural Library is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries, and serves as a National Library of the United States and as the library of the United States Department of Agriculture...
. Lists general information and resources for Round Goby. - Culprit-Great Lakes Goby
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Neogobius melanostomus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 August 2007.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web. Neogobius melanostomus. Downloaded on 18 May 2009.
- GLANSIS Species Fact Sheet