Updating Anaecypris hispanica distribution and conservation status in Portugal

Ana Cristina Cardoso

FiSHMED 2022.001: 12p

Abstract : Anaecypris hispanica is a small and endangered cyprinid endemic restricted to the south-western Iberian Peninsula. Despite its conservation status, the last assessment of its distribution in Portugal was carried on in the late 1990s. Here, I use data collected through a standardized methodology between 2015 and 2021 to update the information on the main threats, distribution and abundance patterns of A. hispanica in Portugal. Results confirm the progres- sive decrease in the geographic range of the species, involving its disappear- ance from six sub-basins. The main threats for conservation of A. hispanica and other fish in the Guadiana basin are the same identified twenty years ago (i.e., over-abstraction of water, over-grazing and proliferation of exotic spe- cies). Conservation actions should be mainly focused on improving water man- agement, and should become priorities for the Guadiana Hydrographic Man- agement Plan.

Keywords : endemic fish, fish conservation, summer pools, water extraction, invasive species, Guadiana River basin

Citation : Cardoso AC (2022) Update on Anaecypris hispanica distribution and its conservation status in Portugal. FiSHMED 2022.001: 12p. https://doi.org/10.29094/FiSHMED.2022.001

Article first published online : 7 February 2023

FiSHMED is an international scientific journal edited by 
the Iberian Society of Ichthyology – SIBIC