The European Catfish (Silurus glanis) as an Invasive Species – eDNA Detection Methods

Abstract

The European or Wels catfish (Silurus glanis) is an opportunistic apex predator which is the largest freshwater fish species in Europe, making it a popular choice as an angler fish or biological control agent. Moreover, in recent years in many places they have also become increasingly important in the food industry too. They mainly live in fishponds or rivers, and their natural area of distribution is Central-Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Over time they have been introduced into many aquatic systems in several countries, but they have become an invasive species due to their excellent adaptability. The European catfish is a highly successful, aggressive apex predator, with a broad diet and thus has a profound impact on the ecosystem. As a result, their monitoring of natural waters has become an important task at the national and international levels. Hence, as with other invasive species, for their detection, a variety of traditional methods are applied. However, with recent technological advances, non-invasive, sensitive, cost- and time-effective approaches have emerged that utilize environmental DNA (eDNA) as a basis. The aim of this review is to present these recent technologies and their application to European catfish species.

Keywords

• environmental dna
• invasive species
• review
• silurus glanis