Ecological particularities of the critically endangered killifish Valencia letourneuxi and its spring-fed habitats: a long-lost endemic species of south Albania

Abstract

The southernmost part of Albania, the Butrinti Lake area is characterised by a highly diverse freshwater fish community with a high degree of regional endemism. This study focuses on the Corfu killifish (or toothcarp) Valencia letourneuxi (Sauvage, 1880) that is endemic to the western part of the Ionian Ecoregion, and reported in Albania in the past from a single location, Lake Butrinti. Recently, in June 2019, the species has been rediscovered at a very low population density (only 11 individuals collected) in a spring-fed stream in the vicinity of Lake Butrinti. Other fish present together with V. letourneuxi were the native Telestes pleurobipunctatus, Barbus peloponnesius, Anguilla anguilla and Pelasgus thesproticus and the translocated Alburnus sp. Our findings provide useful insights into the ecology and conservation of a Critically Endangered, range-restricted species and its habitats. The Corfu killifish presence correlated negatively with water depth and positively with aquatic vegetation coverage. The conservation implications of our findings both for the target species and the co-occurring fish fauna in its spring-fed habitats are discussed.