Past, Current and Future of Fish Diversity in the Alakol Lakes (Central Asia: Kazakhstan)
Nadir Mamilov,
Sayat Sharakhmetov,
Fariza Amirbekova,
Dinara Bekkozhayeva,
Nazym Sapargaliyeva,
Gulnar Kegenova,
Ainur Tanybayeva,
Kanatbek Abilkasimov
Affiliations
Nadir Mamilov
Department of Biodiversity and Bioresources, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi Av., 71, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Sayat Sharakhmetov
Department of Biodiversity and Bioresources, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi Av., 71, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Fariza Amirbekova
LLP Fisheries Research and Production Center (FRPC), Almaty 050016, Kazakhstan
Dinara Bekkozhayeva
Laboratory of Signal and Image Processing, Institute of Complex Systems, Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, CENAKVA, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Zámek 136, 373 33 Nové Hrady, Czech Republic
Nazym Sapargaliyeva
Department of Biodiversity and Bioresources, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi Av., 71, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Gulnar Kegenova
Department of Biodiversity and Bioresources, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi Av., 71, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Ainur Tanybayeva
Department of Biodiversity and Bioresources, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi Av., 71, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan
Kanatbek Abilkasimov
Alakol State Nature Reserve, Kabanbay Batyr Street 32, Usharal 040200, Kazakhstan
The aboriginal ichthyofauna of the Balkhash basin consists mainly of endemic fish species. By the end of the last century, indigenous fish species were driven out of Lake Balkhash and the Alakol Lakes remain the largest refuges of aboriginal fish fauna. Knowledge of regularities of the modern distribution of the indigenous fishes is crucial for biodiversity conservation as well as restoring aquatic ecosystems. The modern diversity of fish species was investigated there in this study. Significant changes for the indigenous and some alien fish distributions were revealed in contrast with earlier known data. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to study the relationships between habitat characteristics and species abundance. Water mineralization and maximal observed water temperatures were estimated as the main environmental variables in fish distribution at the local scale. Habitat change leads to fish fauna homogenization as a result of rare species extinction and alien penetration. Growing human population and poor water management make the future of the indigenous fishes unpredictable.
