4. Future conservation goals

• to come to know environmental requirements of mudminnow (physicochemical, biological and ecological investigations in natural habitats)

• artificial propagation, larvae and juvenile rearing under controlled conditions

• investigate the ecology of fish (i.e. growth, reproduction, feeding)

• introductions for increase number of stocks in natural habitats

• creating new habitats (ponds) in Pilot Demonstration Area

• genome conservation of different rescued endangered populations: sperm cryopreservation and introductions of propagated fishes into separated ponds of Pilot Demonstration Area

• monitoring biological processes of new ponds in the Pilot Demonstration Area

• widespread media communication about outcomes of project

• make a film about our program for public and education.

5 months old (own propagated) mudminnows

Sponsors

Stocking of bred mudminnow in Pilot Demonstration Area

Tavirózsa Association for Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation

Szent István University (SzIU) Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Institute of Environmental and Landscape Management Department of Aquaculture

Program manager: Sándor Tatár (Tavirózsa Association) E-mail: tatarsandor@invitel.hu

Postal address: H-2112 Veresegyház, Pf. 99. www.tavirozsa-egyesulet.hu

Photos: Csaba Posztós/Photomania, Sándor Tatár © 2008-2011, Tavirózsa Association

EUROPEAN MUDMINNOW

CONSERVATION PROGRAM (HUNGARY)

2011

Local government of

village Szada

National Civil Fund

1. Conservation status of European

mudminnow

European mudminnow (Umbra krameri, Walbaum 1792) is an endemic fish species of the middle and lower parts of Danube and Dniester rivers’ catchment area. It is a typical stagnophil species and a sudden extinction of the globally endangered fish. It is on the Red List of many European countries (Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraina, Slovakia) and it also appears in Appendix II. of Bern Convention and in Annex II. of Habitats Directive, 92/43/EEC (“Natura 2000 species” of the European Union). It is categorized as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List due to its isolated and small populations and thus it is assumed that it may go extinct locally.

2. Major threats

European mudminnow is known to have been extirpated from many of it’s original fen habitats. It is estimated that mudminnow populations have declined by more than 30% in the past 10 years. The main reason for this decline is considered to be habitat destruction, especially channelization followed by the destruction of river and stream floodplains. Recently, the invasive and aggressive Rotan (Perccottus glenii, Dybowski, 1877) supplants Umbra krameri in most Hungarian waters. For instance three original European mudminnow habitats were monitored in Hungary in 2010 and two of them had only Rotan populations without Umbra krameri. We would like to highlight that mudminnow is vulnerable because of low average life expectancy (4 years) as well.

Distribution of European mudminnow in Europe

(Harka & Sallai 2004, Sallai 2005, Freyhof &

Kottelat 2008)

3. Main objectives and results of program

The main objectives of European

mudminnow Conservation Program are in

situ and ex situ protection of Umbra

krameri for preserve and increase natural

stocks.

Results of the first three years (2008-2011): • 6 new ponds („Illés” ponds) fed by groundwater were created in the Pilot Demonstration Area (average sizes of water surfaces and depths: 7x6 m, 1,5 m),

• water quality of 2 years old ponds were reached the characteristic values experienced in semi-natural habitats of mudminnow,

• the quantities and numbers of zooplankton and macro-invertebrate species are reached the characteristic values experienced in semi-natural habitats of mudminnow,

• Reproduction on captivity (26 adults from endangered populations), embryo and larva development of European mudminnow were investigated in SzIU labs. Apart from them, the possibilities of prenursering and rearing were investigated in controlled condition and pond. Propagation and larvae rearing may help in strengthening population considerably, thus re-population of decreased stocks (183 ind. so far) and Pilot Demonstration Area (168 ind. so far),

• stockings of broodfishes in natural habitats and in Pilot Demonstration Area (stocked fishes grew faster in the artificially created ponds than literature sources describe it),

• we have 3 different rescued stocks of Umbra

krameri in three ponds of Pilot Demonstration Area (these separated ponds serve as refuges of endangered Hungarian mudminnow populations),

• stocked mudminnows spawned in two years old ponds in spring 2011 (we developed self-sustaining populations),

• we created European mudminnow Database which contains biological and ecological data about mudminnow and it’s habitats,

• we showed our results in scientific articles and media several times (e.g. televisions, radios, gazettes).

Habitat reconstruction for mudminnow

in Pilot Demonstration Area (in the northwestern

part of the Great Hungarian Plain, in village Szada)