The Spanish toothcarp has the same distribution as in the 1990s in the Alt Emporda, but has declined in the Baix Emporda

The "SOS Fartet" project which has been carried out over the last year in the natural parks of Aiguamolls de l’Empordà and Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter, culminated on Friday with the planting of tamarisk seedlings in the "Bassa del Fartet" lagoon. The project was carried out by a team of researchers from the Aquatic Ecology research group at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), in order to ascertain and improve the current state of conservation of the Spanish toothcarp (Aphanius Iberus), a fish which is threatened with extinction and is protected at both Spanish and European level. "SOS Fartet" was directed by Dr Anna Badosa and the ICREA research lecturer Sandra Brucet, and the other participants were Dr Lluís Benejam and Serena Sgarzi, who are all researchers at the UVic-UCC. The project was supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

The results of their work, which were presented on Friday, confirm that the Spanish toothcarp has not returned to its former levels in the Alt Emporda, and has remained at the same levels as in the late 1990s, after experiencing a sharp decline at the beginning of that decade as a result of fresh water entering the Llacunes Reserve. In the Baix Emporda, the species has suffered a slight decline and is only naturally present in two pools, although it has recently been introduced in others that have been constructed. It has not returned to its former levels in any of the ponds where it was present in the early 1980s.

According to Sandra Brucet, "the distribution and numbers of the Spanish toothcarp are clearly determined by two factors: it needs to located in isolated areas where there is no connection with temporary or permanent bodies of water inhabited by the mosquitofish, the invasive species that threatens it, and these must be areas with very high salinity levels, meaning coastal lagoons which retain their natural dynamic without any changes to their water system."

The state of conservation of the Spanish toothcarp in the Alt Emporda and Baix Emporda regions, an area that is the northern boundary for the global distribution of the species, had not been studied since the 1990s. Throughout 2016, and especially in the summer months, "SOS Fartet" conducted fieldwork, which involved using various types of traps (bottles, pots and gall nets) to determine the presence or absence and population levels of the Spanish toothcarp in the various pools that make up the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà.

Recovery of a deteriorated natural area

"SOS Fartet" also involved information and environmental awareness campaigns and specific environmental restoration initiatives to improve the habitat. One of these was the planting of 300 tamarisk seedlings on Friday morning, with the help of forty first and second year secondary school students at the Empuriabrava Secondary School in Castelló d'Empuries participated. The students cycled to Cortalet, where they visited the Interpretation Centre and the nearby habitats. Afterwards, at 11 o'clock, they went to the pond where they saw some toothcarp specimens in aquariums, saw the traps used to catch them during the studies and took part in the planting of the tamarisks, under the guidance and supervision of the forestry cooperative Foresterra.

As well as the planting, a protective wooden fence has been installed at the "Bassa del Fartet" to prevent the entry of cows while grazing. "With these two measures we will give the pool some more natural vegetation, which will provide shelter for the toothcarp, because it has been in very poor condition," explained Anna Badosa, who added that "tamarisks are native trees that are typical of coastal wetlands that have a high tolerance for salinity."

The project was completed by other activities including an informative talk, a survey for the visitors to the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà Natural Park on their knowledge of the species, and the production of an information leaflet on the Spanish toothcarp. From a broad-based perspective, according to Anna Badosa, "the project has helped to conserve the biodiversity of continental freshwater ecosystems, which in recent decades have experienced a sharp decline worldwide," and has contributed to achieving the 2020 Strategic Biodiversity objectives established by the European Union.

The Spanish toothcarp (Aphanius Iberus) is a continental fish endemic to the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The species tolerates wide ranges of temperature and salinity, but has been displaced in the most saline environments mainly as a result of the presence of an invasive freshwater fish, the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). The destruction and deterioration of its habitat in recent decades has also contributed to its decline, and there are now only about 20 populations of the species left across the entire Iberian Peninsula.