Influence of environment upon the life history of gudgeon, <i>Gobio gobio</i> (L.): a recent and successful colonizer of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The growth and the reproductive tactics of gudgeon, Gobio gobio (L.) were assessed in three contrasting streams of the Iberian Peninsula: the Rivers Moros and Ucero, tributaries of the R. Duero, and the R. MatarrańGa, a tributary of the R. Ebro. The R. Duero gudgeon have spread in the last 50 years while their presence in the lower tributaries of the R. Ebro followed the construction of reservoirs in the mid 1960s. The life histories of the Moros and MatarrańnGa gudgeon are very similar; rapid growth in spring, early reproduction (1 ‐year‐old), high reproductive cost, short life‐span and trend to semelparity. Both populations are strongly influenced by the severe summer droughts that result in (I) reduction in the condition coefficient, (2) reduction in the growth rate (particularly in the River MatarrańGa), (3) single spawning and (4) no gonad development in the summer. The gudgeon in the Ucero delay maturity, grow slower, are multi‐spawners and have a longer life span. All the Duero populations come from the same genetic pool and they are actually connected through the populations living along this river basin, whereas the MatarrańGa population is not genetically linked, we hypothesize that the differences between these populations are environmentally induced.