''Salmo carpio'', also known as the carpione (''carpione del Garda''Crivelli, A.J. 2006
''Salmo carpio''
In: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. Downloaded on 2 April 2010 or ''Lake Garda carpione''S. Melotto, G. Alessio (2006
Biology of carpione, ''Salmo carpio'' L., an endemic species of Lake Garda (Italy)
''

Journal of Fish Biology The ''Journal of Fish Biology'' covers all aspects of fish and fisheries biological research, both freshwater and marine. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is the official journal of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles The Fisheries So ...

'' 37, 687-698.) is a

salmonid Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...

fish

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It has been introduced to a number of other lakes in Italy and elsewhere but unsuccessfully in all cases. The population in Lake Garda has been strongly declining, and is considered critically endangered. The main threats are due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

, pollution and possibly competition from

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

such as ''

Coregonus ''Coregonus'' is a diverse genus of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae). The ''Coregonus'' species are known as whitefishes. The genus contains at least 68 described extant taxa, but the true number of species is a matter of debate. The type ...

'' and other

Salmonidae Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...

Biology

Adult lake trout outside the mating season are silvery with very few black spots on the body and almost none on the head. During the mating season some males develop a dark mottled body coloration. Garda lake trout reach a length of up to . They live primarily in depths of . They feed on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

and bottom-dwelling

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

in summer. Males and females reach sexual maturity at two or three years. The mating takes place every one to two years. The spawning takes place either winter or summer at a depth of in the vicinity of underwater springs. The maximum age for this fish is five years.

Status

The numbers of this fish in Lake Garda seem to be dwindling rapidly and had reduced by 80% in the ten years up to 2006. It is suspected that this may be because of pollution of the lake, over fishing and degradation of the lake habitat, and also the fish may face competition from introduced fish species such as ''

'' spp.. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed this fish as being " Critically Endangered". A captive breeding project has been inaugurated and initial results show good production of eggs, fry and juveniles and low mortality rates. It is hoped to retain broodstock and later reintroduce fish into the lake.Rearing of Carpione ''Salmo carpio'', an endemic salmonid in Lake Garda (Italy) - Fernando Lunelli, Filippo Faccenda, Filippo Motta, Cristina Cappelletti and Francesca Ciutti.

References

Bibliography

* Stefano Porcellotti, ''Pesci d'Italia, Ittiofauna delle acque dolci'' Edizioni PLAN 2005; pagg. 16-17 * Zerunian S. "Condannati all'estinzione Biodiversità, biologia, minacce e strategie di conservazione dei Pesci d'acqua dolce indigeni in Italia", ''Edagricole'' 2002; pagg. 61-62

External links

*
Rearing of Carpione Salmo carpio, an endemic salmonid in Lake Garda (Italy); Fernando Lunelli, Filippo Faccenda, Filippo Motta, Cristina Cappelletti and Francesca Ciutti; Fondazione Edmund Mach – Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1494029 carpio Fish of Europe Endemic fauna of Italy Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus