Population biology of anadromous and invasive fish species in European estuaries

Foto: UHH/CeNak, Thiel

The fish fauna in river estuaries and other brackish water systems of Europe is often influenced by human activities, e.g. through shipping, fisheries, agriculture, tourism, climate change. In many European estuaries, therefore, native anadromous migratory fish species are declining, endangered or even extinct. On the other hand, invasive fish species that are introduced, for example, via ballast water of ships, can contribute to stock changes of native fish species. In order to better understand these processes, we study the population biology of anadromous and invasive fish species of Europe, especially in brackish waters of Northern Germany. 

Publications

• Hempel, M., Magath, V., Neukamm, R. & Thiel, R. (2018): Feeding ecology, growth and reproductive biology of round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) in the brackish Kiel Canal. Marine Biodiversity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-018-0854-0.
• Hempel, M., Neukamm, R. & Thiel, R. (2016): Effects of introduced round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) on diet composition, growth and biomass of zander (Sander lucioperca), a main predator in European brackish waters. Aquatic Invasions 11 (2): 167-178.
• Hempel, M. & Thiel, R. (2015): Effects of salinity on survival, growth, and daily food intake of juvenile round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) from a brackish water system. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 31: 370-374.
• Magath, V., Marohn, L., Fietzke, J., Frische, M., Thiel, R. & Dierking, J. (2013): Migration behaviour of twaite shad Alosa fallax assessed by otolith Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca profiles. Journal of Fish Biology 82: 1871-1887.
• Thiel, R., Schulze, S., Hempel, M & Husemann, M. (2017): Most northerly record of bighead goby Ponticola kessleri (Günther, 1861) in the Elbe River, Germany. BioInvasions Records 6 (1): 73-78.