Nikolaos Kiriazis

The impoundment of Aoos springs was created in 1990 to facilitate hydroelectric production, and fish fauna has been enriched through the years due to deliberate or accidental fish stockings, with certain invasive alien fish species arising (i.e., Lepomis gibbosus, Carassius gibelio), some of which are ranked among the most dangerous species for global biodiversity. A three-year monitoring survey was conducting to map the nesting areas of Pumpkinseed, L. gibbosus, to assess the effectiveness of electrofishing as an active method to reduce the spread of the corresponding species and to identify the impact of the L. gibbosus on native species. The largest percentage of nests was found in areas with silty-sand bottoms (53.4%) and low vegetation. The potential nesting area was estimated at 1.97 km² and the area of confirmed nesting was 0.33 km². The species appeared to nest in a small area, compared to the potential nesting area. The results also indicate that a significant percentage of the target species (71.6% of the total number of species) was removed, with an average time per sampling of 1.2 ± 1 h, whereas the impact on the other native species was minimal. These results are important for designing and implementing programs for the eradication or reduction of L. gibbosus in the impoundment of Aoos springs.

The ecosystem structure of a Mediterranean high-altitude artificial lake (Aoos Springs, Northwest Greece) was assessed and quantified using the Ecopath with Ecosim model. The artificial lake was created in 1990 for hydroelectric production and the fish fauna has been enriched across years due to deliberate or accidental fish stockings, as well as the introduction of the invasive pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), which may cause adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and their biota. The model considered 20 species/taxa groups with biological data gathered during 2021–2022 from field surveys, interviews with recreational anglers and literature. The results revealed that the artificial lake of Aoos is a resilient ecosystem to unexpected events with low intensity of fisheries exploitation. The biomass of the introduced invasive species Lepomis gibbosus is low, due to the low biomass level of its diet, Chironomidae and zoobenthic organisms as well as other fish species.