Primeros datos sobre la comunidad de peces de la red de riego y el río Segura en la Huerta de Murcia (sureste, península ibérica)

Abstract

This study presents the first data about the composition and specific abundance of the fish community in the irrigation network and the Segura river in the huerta of Murcia. The samplings were developed seasonally during a complete annual cycle using fyke nets. Three types of aquatic environments were sampled: 1) Segura river, 2) acequias and 3) azarbes. During the study a total of eight species were detected, two of them native: Anguilla anguilla and Luciobarbus sclateri and the rest were exotic to the Segura river basin: Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus, Gobio lozanoi, Lepomis gibbosus and Gambusia holbroooki. The results show that C. carpio and A. anguilla were the species with a wider distribution when detected in 65% and 52% of the localities, respectively, and also the most abundant together with L. sclateri. For environments, A. anguilla was the most abundant species in the river and the acequias, while in the azarbes it was C. carpio. Despite the environmental degradation suffered during the last decades, it is worth highlighting the value of the irrigation network as a relevant habitat for threatened species such as A. anguilla and L. sclateri.