R. A. A. Noble, Bernard Hugueny, Pier Giorgio Bianco, Didier Pont, Nuno Caiola, Ulrika Beier, Thibault Vigneron, Gertrud Haidvogl, Yorick Reyjol, Adolfo de Sostoa, Teresa Ferreira, Tomas Virbickas, Ian G. Cowx, Frederic Casals, Alcibiades N. Economou, Yorick Reyjol, 1, Bernard Hugueny, 1, Didier Pont, 1†, Bianco, PIER GIORGIO, Ulrika Beier, 3, Nuño Caiola, 4, Frederic Casals, 5, Ian, Cowx, Alcibiades Economou, 7, Teresa Ferreira, 8, Gertrud Haidvogl, 9, Richard Noble, 6, Adolfo de Sostoa, 4, Thibault Vigneron, 10, Tomas, Virbickas, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon, Hydrobiologie (UR HYAX), Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF), UNIVERSITY OF NAPOLI ITA, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), INSTITUTE OF FRESHWATER RESEARCH DROTTNINGHOLM SWE, UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA ESP, UNIVERSITY OF LLEIDA ESP, UNIVERSITY OF HULL GBR, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF LISBON PRT, UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES VIENNA AUT, OFFICE NATIONAL DE L'EAU ET DES MILIEUX AQUATIQUES CESSON SEVIGNE, and UNIVERSITY OF VILNIUS LTU
Aim :To analyse the patterns in species richness and endemism of the native European riverine fish fauna, in the light of the Messinian salinity crisis and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Location :European continent. Methods :After gathering native fish faunistic lists of 406 hydrographical networks, we defined large biogeographical regions with homogenous fish fauna, based on a hierarchical cluster analysis. Then we analysed and compared the patterns in species richness and endemism among these regions, as well as species-area relationships. Results :Among the 233 native species present in the data set, the Cyprinidae family was strongly dominant (> 50% of the total number of species). Seven biogeographical regions were defined: Western Peri-Mediterranea, Central Peri-Mediterranea, Eastern Peri-Mediterranea, Ponto-Caspian Europe, Northern Europe, Central Europe and Western Europe. The highest regional species richness was observed for Central Peri-Mediterranea and Ponto-Caspian Europe. The highest endemic richness was found in Central Peri-Mediterranea. Species-area relationships were characterized by high slope values for Peri-Mediterranean Europe and low values for Central and Western Europe.Main conclusions :The results were in agreement with the "Lago Mare" hypothesis explaining the specificity of Peri-Mediterranean fish fauna, as well as with the history of recolonization of Central and Western Europe from Ponto-Caspian Europe following the LGM. The results also agreed with the mechanisms of speciation and extinction influencing fish diversity in hydrographical networks. We advise the use of the seven biogeographical regions for further studies, and suggest considering Peri-Mediterranean Europe and Ponto-Caspian Europe as "biodiversity hotspots" for European riverine fish.