Plasticity of life-history traits in the Draa barbel <i>Luciobarbus lepineyi</i> (Pellegrin, 1939) (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) in the sub-Saharan Draa basin, Morocco: effect of change in flow regime and salinity

The Draa barbel Luciobarbus lepineyi (Pellegrin, 1939), an endemic and unique cyprinid of the arid Draa river basin, southern Morocco, faces a range of multiple environmental stressors, especially in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES). We assessed the effects of flow intermittence and salinisation on the somatic condition, and life-history traits in Draa barbels. We used the scaled-mass index (SMi) to evaluate the mean individual somatic body condition in nine populations. For three contrasted localities: Iriri (IR), Mghimima (MG), and Sid El Mokhtar (SM), we aged fish from scales and calculated von Bertalanffy growth parameters using the Beverton-Holt procedure. We used these parameters to estimate growth indices and performance, size and age at maturity, longevity, and mortality rates. Mean SMi decreased markedly with increasing salinity, revealing a normal condition at 0.4 PSU in IR, a poor condition in MG at 4 PSU, and a very poor condition at 10 PSU in SM. Growth rates (k) increased with salinity. Conversely, asymptotic lengths L∞ and growth performances (phi-prime, φ′) decreased with salinity and flow intermittency. The potential longevity tmax decreased with the increase in salinity. On the other hand, the mortality rate increased with flow intermittence and salinity. The Draa barbels in the saline IRES of the arid Draa basin compensate for the high mortality by growing faster but less efficiently. They mature at an earlier age and have shorter longevity. With this high life-history plasticity, the Draa barbel would constitute a good ecological indicator and a sentinel for salinisation in variable aquatic environments in the arid Draa river basin.