RivFISH Maps – Presence of freshwater fish species in European river basins

This project deliverable presents the presence maps, in European river basins, of 669 native freshwater-dependent fish species (resident and obligatory migrants, represented by the classes Actinopterygii and Petromyzontidae). The Ural and Caucasus Mountains were defined as the geographical boundaries for Europe, including Turkey (delimited on the south by the Orontes river basin), to account for diadromous species (that migrate between fresh waters and sea) that also occur in European river basins draining to the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Caspian Sea. Each map was produced based on the recently published RivFISH database (see the “Related works” section below), which aggregates the available data on 699 freshwater-dependent fish species in Europe, validated at the river basin level (for 669 out of the 699 species) and considering taxonomical synonyms for species names. The delimitation of river basins is based on the Catchment Characterisation and Modelling (CCM2) – River and Catchment Database v2.1 (see "References" section).