PPT Slide
Fish Distributions and Human Influence
Today the most significant factor in fish distributions is human activity. This is due to:
- Environmental disruption, from removal of water for irrigation to overfishing.
- Introduction of exotic fishes into ecosystems. Some examples include:
- trout in Chile
- trout throughout the United States, particularly the West
- catfish into the US West
- Tilapia throughout the World
- Carp
- Grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon in the US
- release of exotic aquarium fishes in south Florida
- Cichla into south Florida
- Petenia into the lakes of Nicaragua
- Lates into the rift lakes of Africa
Each of these introductions, with the exception of ornamental escapes and the carp, involved professional scientists.