Fishes of the Cheshmeh Gomban wetlands (Kor River Basin), Fars Province: Biodiversity and their conservation threats

Fars Province in southern Iran includes the main basins of the Kor River, Maharloo Lake, Persis, Hormoz and Karun. The Kor River Basin, as an inland basin, is an important part of the freshwater Ichthyodiversity. Cheshmeh Gomban (Gomban spring) and its surrounding wetlands are important water sources of this basin and water bodies of the Tashk and Bakhtegan Lakes. In this study, the ichthyodiversity in the Cheshmeh Gomban wetlands and their conservation threats (human and non-human) in 2010, 2017 and 2018 have been investigated. In the field work of the previous years, 5 fish species including 4 endemic species and an exotic species belonging to 5 genera and 3 families (Acanthobrama persidis, Alburnoides qanati, Aphanius sophiae, Capoeta saadii, Gambusia holbrooki) have been identified from the Cheshmeh Gomban wetlands, which in the recent study, this number was reduced to two species. Recent prolonged droughts, uncontrolled abstraction of water from wetlands by various methods and the presence of non-native species are the main threats to the habitats and populations of fish and other biota in Fars Province. Immediate conservation measures are necessary to rehabilitate the wetlands.