Seasonal variation of fish abundance and biomass in gillnet catches of an East Mediterranean lake: Lake Doirani.

The seasonal variation of fish species composition and abundance in gillnet catches (14-90 mm knot-to-knot) from the Greek part of the transboundary Lake Doirani was studied during the period 2006-2007. A total of 8,419 specimens weighing 182.3 kg and belonging to 9 species were caught. Catch composition differed with season. Thus, Rhodeus meridionalis dominated in terms of NPUE the spring, Perca fluviatilis the summer and Albumus macedonicus the autumn and winter catches. Cyprinids were generally the most abundant, with the cyprinids:percids biomass ratio ranging from 1.7 in summer to 14.8 in winter, supporting the eutrophic character of the lake. Richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity and evenness indices differed seasonally (ANOVA; p < 0.05). The abundance-biomass comparative (ABC) curves showed that fish communities were dominated by one or a few opportunistic species (e.g. Rhodeus meridionalis, Albumus macedonicus), which while dominated in number did not dominate in biomass, being small bodied.