Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.5
3.2
Journals
Animals
Special Issues
Fish and Fisheries Under Ecosystem Changes
animals-logo
Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Animals Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Fish and Fisheries Under Ecosystem Changes

A Special Issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615) belonging to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 1953

Editor

Prof. Dr. George Minos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, International Hellenic University, Alexander Campus, 57400 Sindos, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: morphometric analysis; ichthyology; fish age and growth; fisheries management; systematic
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic ecosystems are increasingly affected by climate change, habitat loss, pollution, overfishing, and other human activities, and these stressors are significantly impacting fish stocks, biodiversity, and the sustainability of the world’s fisheries. Rising sea temperatures, ocean acidification, and changing hydrological patterns are disrupting the natural cycles of aquatic organisms, affecting reproduction, growth, migration, and species distribution. Such shifts generally contribute to biodiversity loss, a decline in wild fish populations, and reduced fishery yields. A critical emerging challenge is the spread of invasive fish species, which displace native species, introduce diseases, alter the balance of food chains, compete with economically valuable species for resources, and cause significant socio-economic losses. Genetic and genomic tools are essential for monitoring such invasions, helping us to estimate the risk of hybridization and study adaptive variations in native populations.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue “Fish and Fisheries Under Ecosystem Changes” which aims to gather together the most advanced research investigating the effects of ecosystem changes on fish biology, population dynamics, community structure, and fishery sustainability. Aligned closely with the journal’s scope, it emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to aquatic animal science, including ecological, physiological, and socio-economic dimensions.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome, and areas of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • The impacts of climate change on fish populations;
  • The ecology and economy of invasive species;
  • Genetic and genomic tools for population monitoring;
  • Fish physiology and behaviour under environmental stressors;
  • Shifts in fishery productivity, distribution, resilience and adaptive fishery management under ecosystem change.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. George Minos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fish biodiversity
  • fisheries management
  • ecosystem changes
  • climate change impacts
  • invasive species genetics
  • aquatic ecosystems
  • sustainable fisheries
  • habitat degradation
  • species competition
  • adaptive management

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

21 pages, 5527 KB  
Article
Identifying Key Factors Associated with the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Fish Assemblages in Subtropical River-Type Reservoir Ecosystems: Implications for Fishery Management and Conservation
by Chengjie Yin, Rongzhen Zhang, Zewen Feng, Xiaoning Shi, Renhui Li, Miao Xiang, He Zhang and Longgen Guo
Animals 2026, 16(18), 2892; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16182892 - 14 Sep 2026
Viewed by 236
Abstract
Characterizing the spatiotemporal patterns of fish communities in subtropical river-type reservoirs provides useful baseline information for fisheries stewardship and aquatic ecosystem monitoring. This work investigated fish assemblages across 18 sampling sites within Shanxi Reservoir, Zhejiang Province, using an integrative approach combining gillnet surveys, [...] Read more.
Characterizing the spatiotemporal patterns of fish communities in subtropical river-type reservoirs provides useful baseline information for fisheries stewardship and aquatic ecosystem monitoring. This work investigated fish assemblages across 18 sampling sites within Shanxi Reservoir, Zhejiang Province, using an integrative approach combining gillnet surveys, hydroacoustic detection, and habitat parameter monitoring. Sampling was conducted during two periods: October 2022 (autumn, post-flood, fattening phase) and April 2023 (spring, normal water level, spawning phase). A total of 22 species were documented in spring and 21 in autumn, with Cyprinidae species predominating. Dominant species shifted seasonally, led by Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, Culter dabryi and Hemiculter leucisculus. Planktivores and carnivores were more abundant in spring, while omnivores increased in autumn. Spatially, fish populations were mainly concentrated in the shallow riverine zone (SRZ), predominantly comprising small- to medium-sized individuals. Mantel tests and Pearson correlation analyses identified associations between fish assemblage structure in the deep lake zone (DLZ) and environmental variables including dissolved oxygen, conductivity, chlorophyll a, and phytoplankton density and biomass. This study provides preliminary baseline data on fish community dynamics in Shanxi Reservoir and offers tentative observations that may help inform future zoned monitoring and ecological restoration planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish and Fisheries Under Ecosystem Changes)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 2392 KB  
Article
New Records of Isognomon Species from Crete, Greece; Evidence from Adult Specimens and Additional DNA Barcodes
by Papavasileiou Kyriakos, Giagkazoglou Zoi, Karagianni Athanasia, Sidiropoulou Dimitra, Loukovitis Dimitrios, Imsiridou Anastasia, Manousis Thanasis and Galinou-Mitsoudi Sofia
Animals 2026, 16(14), 2277; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16142277 - 22 Jul 2026
Viewed by 439
Abstract
During the last two decades, non-indigenous species of the genus Isognomon have been increasingly reported in the Mediterranean Sea, yet their taxonomy and distribution remain poorly resolved because of pronounced shell plasticity and limited molecular reference data. In the present study, Isognomon specimens [...] Read more.
During the last two decades, non-indigenous species of the genus Isognomon have been increasingly reported in the Mediterranean Sea, yet their taxonomy and distribution remain poorly resolved because of pronounced shell plasticity and limited molecular reference data. In the present study, Isognomon specimens collected along the coasts of Crete (Greece) were examined, using an integrative approach combining adult morphometric analyses with mitochondrial (COI and 16S rRNA) and nuclear (28S rRNA) genetic markers. The results confirm the establishment of Isognomon bicolor in the eastern Mediterranean and document the presence of specimens morphologically consistent with I. australicus, which clustered within the unresolved I. legumen–I. aff. legumen complex in both mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenetic analyses. Morphometric analyses revealed pronounced shell plasticity, with shell width, hinge length, and nacreous height providing the greatest discriminatory power, although considerable overlap between taxa limited reliable identification based solely on shell morphology. Molecular analyses confirmed the identity of I. bicolor and further supported its eastward expansion within the Mediterranean basin. In contrast, the concordance between mitochondrial and nuclear datasets indicates that the unresolved taxonomy of the I. australicus–I. legumen complex is unlikely to result solely from the use of mitochondrial markers. These findings expand the available morphometric and genetic data for Mediterranean Isognomon populations and highlight the need for integrative taxonomic approaches, incorporating additional nuclear and genomic data to resolve species boundaries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish and Fisheries Under Ecosystem Changes)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1105 KB  
Article
eDNA-qPCR Reveals Spatial Biomass and Habitat Associations of the Endangered Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis in Zhouzhi Heihe River
by Hu Zhao, Xiaoran An, Kunyang Zhang, Han Zhang, Jie Deng, Jianlu Zhang, Cheng Fang, Fei Kong, Wei Jiang, Qijun Wang, Xin Ding and Hongying Ma
Animals 2026, 16(13), 1957; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16131957 - 24 Jun 2026
Viewed by 420
Abstract
Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis is an endangered salmonid endemic to China. Traditional trapping methods frequently fail to detect this rare fish in low-density mountain streams, hampering evidence-based conservation. Here, we employed environmental DNA quantitative PCR (eDNA-qPCR) with species-specific primers to assess the spatial biomass [...] Read more.
Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis is an endangered salmonid endemic to China. Traditional trapping methods frequently fail to detect this rare fish in low-density mountain streams, hampering evidence-based conservation. Here, we employed environmental DNA quantitative PCR (eDNA-qPCR) with species-specific primers to assess the spatial biomass distribution of this species in the Zhouzhi Heihe River. Concurrently, we surveyed plankton, benthic macroinvertebrates, and physicochemical water parameters. eDNA detected the target species at 12 of 14 sites, with reliable quantification achieved at 9 sites, suggesting that the method may be more effective than conventional trapping for detecting this species under the studied low-density conditions. eDNA-derived relative biomass exhibited pronounced spatial heterogeneity, ranging from 6.0 × 10−4 to 1.5 × 10−2 g/cm3. Water depth showed a significant positive association with biomass (r = 0.5347), whereas phytoplankton Shannon diversity (a measure of species richness and evenness) was significantly negatively correlated (r = −0.5447). Flow velocity displayed a negative trend that did not reach statistical significance (r = −0.5009). Plankton and benthic communities indicated overall ecological conditions but did not directly explain the observed spatial variation in fish biomass. These findings indicate that the spatial pattern of B. lenok tsinlingensis is primarily shaped by local physical habitat structure, with deeper, hydraulically more complex channel units serving as key microhabitats. eDNA-qPCR thus represents an effective, low-disturbance monitoring tool for this endangered cold-water fish and provides a scientific basis for targeted habitat protection and restoration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish and Fisheries Under Ecosystem Changes)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop