The Composition, Distribution and Abundance of Fish Species According to the Effects of Water Physicochemical Parameters in the Livoq Lake, Kosovo

Abstract

In this study, the results of fish composition, distribution and abundance are presented according to the effects of water physicochemical parameters from the Livoq Lake in the eastern part of Kosovo. The fish specimens were sampled in six sampling stations in 2018 by using a variety of methods, including electro-fishing devices, fishing rod and cast nets. The measured physicochemical parameters included: water temperature, dissolved oxygen, saturation of dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids. In total, 320 fish specimens were collected, belonging to 10 species of the following 5 families: Cyprinidae, Silurideae, Esocideae, Percideae and Centrarhideae. The most species rich family is Cyprinidae with 6 species in total: Cyprinus caprio Linnaeus, 1758, Rutilus rutilus Linnaeus, 1758, Carassius carassius Linnaeus, 1758, Squalius cephalus Linnaeus, 1758, Leucaspius delineatus Linnaeeus, 1758 and Alburnus alburnus Linnaeus, 1758. Four other families are represented by one species each: Silurideae with Siluris glanis Linnaeus, 1758, Esocidea with Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758, Percideae with Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758 and Centrarhideae with Lepomis gibosus Linnaeus, 1758. The knowledge on fish fauna in Kosovo is still very fragmentary, and this investigation contributes to determining the qualitative composition and abundance features based on the water physicochemical parameters in this part of the Balkan Peninsula.

Keywords

• Livoq Lake
• fish distribution
• fish composition
• abundance
• water quality