Pumpkinseed	Status LU: established. 1st record: 1996.
	Gewéinlech Sonnepiisch	Status Eur.: established.
	Perche soleil	RA: ISEIA: C2. Harmonia+: n/a.
	Gemeiner Sonnenbarsch	Wikipedia:     | Wikispecies: | CABI
	Zonnebaars	Back to the list of vertebrates

Report the species

→ Report Lepomis gibbosus to the National Museum of Natural History.

Brief description

Introduced to Europe from North America in the late 1800s (Maes, 1898), Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) is now established in a minimum of 28 countries in Europe and Asia Minor (Copp and Fox, 2007), with a population reported for Brazil and possibly also Chile. Initial reports (early 1900s) mentioned large specimens but with repeated introductions needed for establishment. Later in the 1930s, the species was blamed for the decline of native Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis), but this hypothesis was never tested. There is little direct evidence of adverse impacts except from Iberia. Few parasites are reported, though non-native monogeneans have been reported for Norwegian and English populations. Invasiveness in L. gibbosus appears to be a function of juvenile growth (length at age two) and age at maturity, with invasive populations reported almost exclusively for southern Europe, However, even in northern Europe, L. gibbosus may represent a considerable proportion of the fish assemblage in water bodies that have been subjected to human impacts. The species is not listed on any conservation alert list (CABI 2019).

Status and distribution in Luxembourg

Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) was first documented by Julius Troschel on 19th July 1996 in Syr/Syre north of Medingen (municipality of Contern), in Syr/Syre in Schrassig (municipality of Schuttrange) and in the delta of Lennéngerbach in Ehnen (municipality of Wormeldange) (MNHNL, iNaturalist & GBIF 2020).

During river surveys in 2005, the species was documented in 6 out of 68 sampling spots in the rivers Alzette, Moselle and Syre. 57 observations of the species are documented in the national database in 2024 ((MNHNL, iNaturalist & GBIF 2024).

Management

Action plan

An action plan regarding the species has been published in 2020:

→ Finalised Action Plan for Lepomis gibbosus (Pfeiffenschneider & Hoppe 2020)

Risk assessment

ISEIA protocol

C2 (2+2+2+2) (Ries et al. 2014: 199).

Harmonia+ protocol

Not assessed yet.

Worldwide distribution

CABI 2019: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/77080#toDistributionMaps

Bibliography

• Administration de la gestion de l’eau, 2010. Les poissons au Luxembourg, Cartographie des poissons, lamproies et écrevisses du grand-duché de Luxembourg, 213 pp.
• CABI, 2019. Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. URL: www.cabi.org/isc [accessed 2020-04-22]
• MNHNL, iNaturalist & GBIF, 2020. Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) in MNHNL-mdata, online portal combining species observation from Recorder-Lux, iNaturalist and GBIF. National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg. URL: https://mdata.mnhn.lu [accessed 2020-04-22]
• Pfeiffenschneider, M. & F. Hoppe 2020. Plan d’action pour espèces exotiques envahissantes au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg : Perche soleil, Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758). Version 3.1 – 2021-01-22. Administration de la nature et des forêts, Luxembourg. 20 pp.
• Ries, C., M. Pfeiffenschneider, Engel, E., J.-C. Heidt & M. Lauff, 2014. Environmental impact assessment and black, watch and alert list classification after the ISEIA Protocol of vertebrates in Luxembourg. Bull. Soc. Nat. luxemb. 115: 195-201. [PDF 247 KB]