Unravelling origin and diversity of a non-native fish in Iran; Hemiculter leucisculus (Basilewsky, 1855) and its response to climate change

Abstract

Abstract Non-native and invasive species are the second leading cause of species extinction and one of the major threats to freshwater ecosystems. Hemiculter leucisculus is one of the introduced species of Iran's aquatic ecosystems for many years (1967) that has been reported from Iran in the Anzali wetland for the first time. The aim of the current study is to assess the diversity and origin of H. leucisculus a non-native species and also its response to current and future climate change in Iran's freshwater. To this, we collected the specimen from the species distribution range in the country and performed the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome b (cytb) combining them with the 84 GenBank(NCBI) sequences. In addition, an ensemble model approach was used for future Species Distribution Modelings (SDMs) and it was estimated according to two Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs): 126 and 585 of the MRI-ESM2 based on CMIP6. According to our results, all the samples examined in the current study originated from the same locatlity, the river basins of china. The results also show a high genetic and haplotype diversity that can have a positive effect on the success of its non-native in different catchments of inland waters of Iran. Afterward, the result of SDM maps, clearly illustrated that climate change would significantly affect the distribution of H. leucisculus and it showed a sharp tendency to expand over time in its distribution areas.