Comparative swimming performance and behaviour of three benthic fish species: The invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), the native bullhead (Cottus gobio), and the native gudgeon (Gobio gobio)

Efforts to restore river ecosystem connectivity focus predominantly on diadromous, economically important fish species, and less attention is given to nonmigratory, small‐bodied, benthic fish species. Data on benthic fish swimming performance and behaviour in comparison with ecologically similar native species are especially relevant for the study of one of the most successful invaders in the last decades: the Ponto‐Caspian gobiid species Neogobius melanostomus . To evaluate future measures against its further upstream dispersal, we conducted comparative swimming performance and behaviour experiments with round goby and two native species: the European bullhead ( Cottus gobio ) and the gudgeon ( Gobio gobio ). Experiments in a swim tunnel revealed a high variation in the swimming performance and behaviour within and among the three species. Gudgeon performed best in both U crit and U sprint experiments and displayed a rather continuous, subcarangiform swimming mode, whereas bullhead and round goby displayed a burst‐and‐hold swimming mode. Experiments in a vertical slot pass model, which contained a hydraulic barrier as a challenge to upstream movement, confirmed the high swimming performance of gudgeon. Gudgeon dispersed upstream even across the hydraulic barrier at the highest flow velocities. Round goby showed a higher capability to disperse upstream than bullhead, but failed to pass the hydraulic barrier. Our results on comparative swimming performance and behaviour can inform predictive distribution modelling and range expansion models, and also inform the design of selective barriers to prevent the round goby from dispersing farther upstream.