THE RESPONSE OF BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE AND FISH ASSEMBLAGES TO HUMAN IMPACT ALONG THE LOWER STRETCH OF THE RIVERS MORAVA AND DYJE (DANUBE RIVER BASIN, CZECH REPUBLIC)

Abstract

The lower Morava and Dyje rivers belong among the large lowland rivers on the southeast of the Czech Republic flowing into the Danube 69 km downstream of their confluence. Despite their high nature value and environment protection, both rivers suffered from heavy pollution from the sixties to the eighties of the last century. Significant improvement of their water quality during the last two decades resulted in the partial recovery of former assemblages of both benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. Recently, altogether 262 and 137 taxa of macrozoobenthos were recorded at the Dyje and Morava rivers, respectively. In the River Dyje, 3 and 21 non-native and threatened (according to IUCN categories) invertebrate species, respectively, were ascertained, whilst in the River Morava their numbers were 2 and 10, respectively. The fish assemblage consisted of 23 and 24 species, respectively, plus one hybrid in each of the rivers, bleak being by far the most abundant fish. In the sections under study, several rare and/or protected species were also recorded. Two of them, ide (Leuciscus idus) and burbot (Lota lota) belong among vulnerable fish species and four others, white-eye bream (Abramis sapa), striped ruffe (Gymnocephalus schraetser), streber (Zingel streber) and zingel (Zingel zingel), are considered as critically endangered species. Currently, both lower stretches of the rivers Morava and Dyje have been heavily invaded by round goby, Neogobius melanostomus.

Keywords

• macrozoobenthos
• fish
• diversity
• river pollution
• river regulation
• joint danube survey