Freshwater fish of Algeria. Study of the ichthyofauna of the Soummam River.
Les poissons des eaux continentales d'Algérie. Étude de l'ichtyofaune de la Soummam
Résumé
This study, based on available literature, has been undertaken on the freshwater fishes of Algeria, with the aim of estab
-
lishing a list of native and introduced fish species. In Algeria, 29 native and 16 introduced species were recorded. The ich
-
thyofauna is dominated by the
cyprinidae, which represent 25% of the total number of species. Four species are listed in
the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (
Barbus nasus, Aphanius iberus, A. saourensis
, and
Haplochromis desfontainii
).
The study of the ichthyodiversity of one of the main river in Algeria, the Soummam River, was undertaken for the first time
in order to complete the national list of freshwater fishes and establish a reference dataset about its ecological status. Eleven
stations, located on the principal river and its affluents, were sampled with gillnet and beach seine during two scientific
campaigns carried out in March and July 2005. In the Soummam River, 11 families were recorded, including 17 genera
distributed in 19 species, among which 16 native ones and 3 introduced species (
Cyprinus carpio carpio, Pseudorasbora
parva
and
Gambusia holbrooki
). Two families, Cyprinidae and Mugilidae, represented 42% of the species captured. In this
river, three groups of species were identified with a factorial analysis of variance: the group A characterises the downstream
river and is mainly composed of marine (
Umbrina cirrosa, Sciaena umbra, Trachinotus ovatus
) and migrant species (
Liza
aurata, L. saliens, Chelon labrosus, Dicentrarchus labrax, D. punctatus
and
Alosa fallax fallax
). Most of these species use
the river mouth as a spawning and nursery ground. The group B is represented by species living in the main river and its
affluents (
Cyprinus carpio, Pseudorasbora parva, Salaria fluviatilis, Mugil cephalus, Gambusia holbrooki
and
Petromyzon
marinus
) whereas the group
c (
Barbus setivimensis, Pseudophoxinus callensis, Anguilla anguilla
) is represented mainly
by species living in small affluents with steeply sloping and low flow with partial draining in summer. The present study
confirms the presence of
Pseudorasbora parva
whose existence in
algeria was uncertain. The Soummam River contains
about 36% of freshwater fish species of Algeria. This ichthyofauna is threatened by various anthropogenetic pressures (pol
-
lution, sand and gravel extraction, etc.) and needs to be protected by a conservation programme.
L’inventaire des poissons des eaux continentales algériennes a permis d’établir une liste de 45 espèces dont 29 autochtones et 16 introduites. L’étude de l’ichtyofaune de la Soummam, l’une des principales rivières d’Algérie, a pour but de compléter cet inventaire et de présenter un premier document de référence sur son état écologique actuel à travers la composition spécifique de sa faune ichtyologique. Une liste faunistique est établie pour la première fois sur la base des données issues de deux campagnes d’échantillonnage scientifique réalisées en mars et juillet 2005. Onze familles ont été recensées, avec 17 genres répartis en 19 espèces, dont 16 sont autochtones. La Soummam abrite près de 36% des espèces de l’ichtyofaune des eaux continentales algériennes.