The European catfish ( Silurus glanis), for instance, is now well established in Western and Southern European freshwaters 4. The widespread introduction of non-native fishes in freshwaters is a significant threat for native species that may entail complete extirpation of native populations and/or species 3. This threat is likely to happen throughout most of the native lamprey distribution area, as the European catfish is becoming established almost everywhere the sea lamprey is.įreshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide, and the species inhabiting them are declining more rapidly compared to those living in terrestrial and marine biomes 1, 2. This very high predation rate suggests that the European catfish represents a supplementary serious threat of extirpation for the native sea lamprey population we studied. We found that at least 80% of tagged sea lampreys (39 among 49) were preyed upon within one month, and that 50% of the released lampreys were rapidly consumed on average 8 days after tagging. Here, we use a new prototype predation tag coupled with RFID telemetry on 49 individuals from one of the largest sea lamprey European populations (Southwestern France) to quantify the risk of predation for adult sea lampreys during its spawning migration in rivers with large populations of European catfish. An introduced predator, the European catfish ( Silurus glanis), is now widespread in Western and Southern European freshwaters, adding a new threat for sea lamprey migrating into freshwater to spawn. This migratory fish is endangered in much of its native area due to dams, overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss. ![]() Sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus) is a unique jawless vertebrate among the most primitive of all living vertebrates.
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