Collapse of the native ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua) population in the Biesbosch lakes (the Netherlands) owing to round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) invasion

We investigated the change in benthic fish communities in three artificial lakes of the Biesbosch area in the Netherlands between two time periods: before and after the invasion of round goby (Neogobius melanostomus). Native ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua), the dominant species in benthic gillnet and littoral beach seining catches before the invasion, almost completely disappeared in all lakes only 2 years after the invasion. We found a significant increase in 0 ? perch (Perca fluviatilis) and, in some lakes, pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) abundance in gillnet catches after invasion. In the post-i... Mehr ...