| Abstract |
The Burgundy ichthyofauna underwent large changes during the last century, but these were not the first and are far to be the last ones. They happen within a natural post-glacial recolonization process, deeply boosted by Man owing to extended stockings of central European and exotic taxa, and their subsequent propagation throughout the artificial transwatershed canal network completed in XIXth Century. This process drives towards an increase the overall biodiversity, but tends to reduce the local specificity of each river drainage basin (Seine, Loire and Saone rivers). Unfortunately, this gain in biodiversity is counteracted by a significant loss in local productivity because of the extensive degradation of the river environment due to water pollutions and river habitat alterations. This trend is quite obvious in the Saone River, and should be thoroughly monitored in order to protect the patrimonial resource that made the Burgundy rivers famous for both professional fishing and recreational angling. |