Southeastern Fishes Council
SFC Abstracts
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Tracking Introduced for Fishes in the Southeastern United States
LEO G. NICO
Southeastern Biological Science Center, National Biological Service, Gainesville, FL 32606
Since 1978, the Southeastern Biological Science Center (SBSC), National Biological Service, Gainesville, Florida, has monitored the status and distribution of nonindigenous fish species in open waters of the U.S. The SBSC database now contains over 12,000 records representing over 400 nonindigenous fish species. The SBSC database documents authorized and unauthorized introductions of over 160 nonindigenous fish species into inland waters of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Of these, at least 30 foreign fish species and more than 30 transplanted species have established, reproducing populations. Continued maintenance of the database is extremely important because of the dynamics associated with introduced fish populations and the potential impacts certain introduced species may have on native aquatic species and ecosystems. Many problem fishes introduced into U.S. waters transcend political or state boundaries.
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