Editing Round goby (section)

==Invasive species==
[[Image:Neogobius melanostomus1.jpg|thumb|left|Round goby from the [[Great Lakes]], United States]]

The species was accidentally introduced into the North American Great Lakes by way of ballast water transfer in cargo ships. First discovered in North America in the [[St. Clair River]] in 1990, the round goby is considered an [[invasive species]] with significant ecological and economic impact.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1023/B:BINV.0000022136.43502.db| title = The Round Goby, ''Neogobius melanostomus'', a Fish Invader on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean| journal = Biological Invasions| volume = 6| issue = 2| pages = 173| year = 2004| last1 = Corkum | first1 = L. D. | last2 = Sapota | first2 = M. R. | last3 = Skora | first3 = K. E. | s2cid = 24355546}}</ref> The consequences of introduction are quite complex, as the fish both competes with native species and provides an abundant source of food for them, while consuming other invasive species itself.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|last=Lydersen|first=Karl|title=The Round Goby, an Uninvited Resident of the Great Lakes, Is Doing Some Good|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/us/27cncgoby.html|access-date=May 27, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 26, 2011|quote=their ecological impact has not been devastating, but complicated — even beneficial in some cases.}}</ref> In other words, the round goby behaves much like most biological invasive controls. An aggressive fish, the round goby outcompetes native species such as the [[sculpin]] and [[logperch]] for food (such as [[snails]] and [[mussels]]), shelter, and nesting sites, substantially reducing their numbers. Round gobies are also voracious predators of eggs of native fish, many of them important to the angling industry. The goby's robust ability to survive in degraded environmental conditions has helped to increase its competitive advantage compared to native species.

Many native predatory fish such as [[smallmouth bass]], [[largemouth bass]], [[walleye]], salmon, and trout have begun to prey on round gobies. The incorporation of the round goby into native [[foodweb]]s, coupled with the goby's ability to consume large numbers of invasive mussels ([[zebra mussel|zebra]] and [[quagga mussel|quagga]]), may result in greater [[bioaccumulation]] of toxins such as PCBs higher in the food chain, since these mussels filter-feed and are known to accumulate persistent contaminants. However, this is partly beneficial because even though they do not reduce the population of zebra mussels, they do control their population. Hence, it prevents a large-scale spread of the zebra mussel, which is also an invasive species in the Great Lakes. Another unintended benefit of the round goby's introduction is that the [[Lake Erie watersnake]], once listed as a [[threatened species]], has found the goby to be a highly favorable addition to its diet. A recent study found the introduced fish now accounts for up to 90% of the snake's prey. The new food supply means that the water snake is now staging a comeback.<ref>Williams, Rebecca (producer). [http://environmentreport.org/story.php?story_id=2796 "Ten Threats: Natives Bite Back"]. ''[[The Environment Report]]'', October 10, 2005. Accessed 11 February 2010.</ref> Round gobies also serve as food for a variety of predatory fishes in the Great Lakes, including bass, [[lake trout]], [[lake whitefish]], [[burbot]], [[lake sturgeon]], and [[walleye]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jacobs |first1=G. R. |title=Invasive species alter ontogenetic shifts in the trophic ecology of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the Niagara River and Lake Ontario |journal=Biological Invasions |date=2017 |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=1533–1546 |doi=10.1007/s10530-017-1376-6 |s2cid=40123286 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-017-1376-6/fulltext.html|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The round goby is also considered [[invasive species|invasive]] in parts of Europe. This process was started by its introduction to the [[Gdańsk Bay|Gulf of Gdańsk]] (southern Baltic Sea) in 1990.<ref>Skóra K.E., Stolarski J. (1993) New fish species in the Gulf of Gdańsk ''[[Neogobius]]'' sp. [cf. ''Neogobius melanostomus'' (Pallas 1811)]. Bull. Sea Fisheries Inst., 1(128): 83.</ref> Locations recently invaded by round gobies include the [[Aegean Sea]],<ref>Eryilmaz L. (2002) A new fish record for the Aegean Sea: round goby ''Neogobius melanostomus'' (Pallas, 1814) (Gobiidae). Israel J. Zool., 48: 251–252.</ref> different parts of the Baltic Sea,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1007/s10530-004-9035-0| title = Spread of alien (non-indigenous) fish species ''Neogobius melanostomus'' in the Gulf of Gdansk (south Baltic)| journal = Biological Invasions| volume = 7| issue = 2| pages = 157| year = 2005| last1 = Sapota | first1 = M. R. | last2 = Skóra| first2 = K. E. | s2cid = 12882124}}</ref> the [[North Sea]] basin,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = van Beek | first1 = G.C.W. | year = 2006 | title = The round goby ''Neogobius melanostomus'' first recorded in the Netherlands | url = http://www.aquaticinvasions.net/2006/AI_2006_1_1_van_Beek.pdf | journal = Aquatic Invasions | volume = 1 | pages = 42–43 | doi=10.3391/ai.2006.1.1.10| doi-access = free }}</ref> and the [[Danube]] and [[Rhine]] basins.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2005.00688.x| title = The recent distribution and abundance of non-native Neogobius fishes in the Slovak section of the River Danube| journal = Journal of Applied Ichthyology| volume = 21| issue = 4| pages = 319| year = 2005| last1 = Jurajda | first1 = P.| last2 = Cerny | first2 = J.| last3 = Polacik | first3 = M.| last4 = Valova | first4 = Z.| last5 = Janac | first5 = M.| last6 = Blazek | first6 = R.| last7 = Ondrackova | first7 = M.| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=van Kessel N. |author2=Dorenbosch M. |author3=Spikmans F. |year=2009|url=http://www.aquaticinvasions.net/2009/AI_2009_4_2_vanKessel_etal.pdf |title=First record of Pontian monkey goby, ''Neogobius fluviatilis'' (Pallas, 1814), in the Dutch Rhine|journal=Aquatic Invasions|volume= 4|issue=2|pages =421–424|doi=10.3391/ai.2009.4.2.24|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the [[Germany|German]] part of the Baltic Sea this fish was first noted near [[Rügen]] Island.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Winkler | first1 = H.M. | year = 2006 | title = Die Fischfauna der südlichen Ostsee | journal = Meeresangler-Magazin | volume = 16 | pages = 17–18 }}</ref> It is now distributed all along the southwestern Baltic Sea coast, including [[Szczecin Lagoon|Stettiner Haff (Szczecin Lagoon)]], the [[Unterwarnow]] ([[Warnow]] river estuary), the mouth of the [[Trave]], and the [[Kiel Canal|Nord-Ostsee (Kiel) Canal]].

As of 2010, the westernmost site of round goby occurrence in Europe was the lower [[Scheldt]], including the [[tidal zone]] in the river mouth, and [[Albert Canal]], Belgium.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Verreycken H. |author2=Breine J.J. |author3=Snoeks J. |author4=Belpaire C. |year=2011|url=http://www.aiep.pl/volumes/2010/2_2/pdf/11_1060_FULLTEXT.pdf |title=First record of the round goby, ''Neogobius melanostomus'' (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Gobiidae) in Belgium|journal= Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria|volume= 41|issue=2|pages= 137–140|doi=10.3750/aip2011.41.2.11|doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2011, the round goby began invading the fresh waters of France; the species appeared in the [[Rhine River]] (on the border between France and Germany) and in the French part of the [[Moselle River]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Manné S. |author2=Poulet N. |author3=Dembski S. |year=2013|url=http://www.kmae-journal.org/articles/kmae/pdf/2013/04/kmae120090.pdf |title=Colonisation of the Rhine basin by non-native gobiids: an update of the situation in France|journal= Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems|volume= 411|issue= 2}}</ref>