ESENIAS-TOOLS participated in the 7^th International Zoological Congress of “Grigore Antipa” Museum (CZGA 2015), held on 18-21 November 2015, Bucharest, Romania.

This congress has been organised annually since 2009 by the “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History. At the CZGA 2015, there were 11 keynote speakers and more than 160 oral and poster contributions. A special session was dedicated to Invasive species.

ESENIAS-TOOLS participants presented 5 contributions.

The first record of the spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus in Bulgaria was presented in the poster of Todorov et al. The species originates from North America and since1890 has spread to at least 22 European countries. In June 2015, this species was recorded in the Topolovets River (Danube tributary in north-western Bulgaria). During a second survey, the spiny cheek crayfish was found in two more tributaries, reaching 8 km upstream of the Danube River confluence, with established and numerous populations. For more information on the distribution of the species in the Danube River basin and its environmental impact see Species alerts section: >>>

Preliminary results on the changes in ichthyofauna of the north-western Bulgarian stretch of the Danube River were presented by Trichkova et al. The shoreline ichthyofauna of the northwestern Bulgarian stretch (840 to 765 rkm) of the Danube River at 10 sites was monitored between 2012 and 2014. Thirty fish species were recorded, of which six were alien species. Comparison of data with that from a previous study, covering 2005-2006, indicated no significant change in fish composition between the two sampling periods, though the relative frequency and abundance of some species has increased. The annual differences in fish composition were explained through localised changes in the hydrological regime of the main channel and floodplain waterbodies.

Some preliminary results on non-native fish Lepomis gibbosus as a source of introduced parasites and/or reservoir for local parasites in European water bodies were presented by Ondračková et al. The results were based on the study of thirteen populations of L. gibbosus for metazoan parasites in four drainages in Europe: Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean, and North Sea drainage.

Preliminary checklist of alien mammal species in Bulgaria was presented by Koshev et al. The list consists of 20 species with information on their establishment success and potential impact.

Nedyalkov et al. presented on the current status, distribution and conservation of two rare hamster species in Bulgaria: Mesocricetus newtoni and Cricetus cricetus. Invasive alien species were reviewed as one of the main threats to the hamster populations along with changes in agriculture practices.

Congress website with Book of abstracts >>>

Poster (Todorov et al.) >>>

Poster (Trichkova et al.) >>>

Poster (Koshev et al.) >>>

Poster (Nedyalkov et al.) >>>