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Interactions of the Native and Alien Faunas of New Zealand and the Problem of Fish Introductions
Author(s) -
McDowall R. M.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1968)97[1:iotnaa]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - fauna , introduced species , biology , ecology , indigenous , competition (biology) , invasive species , alien , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , politics , citizenship , political science , law
New Zealand possesses a small and unsaturated but peculiar indigenous freshwater fish fauna. In addition, a considerable variety of introduced species is now in competition with the native species and evidence suggests that this is causing depletion of the native fauna. It is considered that low saturation and high isolation of the New Zealand fauna has produced species with low competitive ability. The largely predatory introduced game fishes are of continental origin and their superior competitive ability is leading to competitive displacement of the native species.