Biogeography, diversity and conservation of the inland water fish communities in Israel

The inland fish fauna of Israel comprises 32 indigenous species belonging t o eight families, and 14-16 introduced species. The native fishes of Israel are of different biogeographical origins: Africa, Central Asia, Levant, th e Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The fishes inhabit three separate water sy stems which have been divided in this work into 12 subunits, which differ f rom each other in their ecological features. Twelve of the species are ende mic to their catchments. Three of the species, all from the upper Jordan Va lley, are extinct. The richest ichthyofauna is in the Jordan River Valley w ith 26 species, 19 of which are found in Lake Kinneret. The distribution pa tterns of the indigenous species have been updated and the fish assemblages in the different systems are characterized. The human impact on fish biodi versity in Israel is documented here for the first time, including changes in fish distribution patterns. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights re served.