Some fish species found in Belarus are causing concern among scientists due to a sharp decline in their population. As recounted by Alexey Palatayeu, Senior Research Fellow at the Ichthyology Laboratory of the Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Bioresources, loaches are under threat, reports the "Smartpress" publication.
Photo: zarya.by
The ichthyologist shared an unfortunate trend: the number of common loaches in the country's waters has decreased significantly compared to the 1970s-1980s. The fish has even been included in an appendix to the new edition of the Red Book — "List of species requiring additional study and attention for preventive conservation."
"Due to land reclamation, the loach is losing its habitats — floodplains, silty lakes, and swamps," explains Alexey Palatayeu regarding the reasons for what is happening. —
Furthermore, an invasive fish species, the Amur sleeper (rotan-goloveshka), actively feeds on its fry. In many places where loaches live, the rotan population is not regulated because other predatory fish do not live there due to an unfavorable oxygen regime.
Another problem for the loach is aeromonosis. This is a contagious bacterial infection that leads to mass mortality of the species in several European countries, including, apparently, Belarus."
Vatican Excommunicates the Society of Saint Pius X. Schismatics have a chapel in Minsk where everything is in Russian — what now awaits these believers 1818
Comments