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Upstream/downstream food quality differences in a Caribbean Island River

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Abstract

Caribbean rivers are inhabited by native macrofauna with a diadromous life cycle. The factors influencing the upstream migration of diadromous species are not well understood. Suggested primary factors include species density, habitat suitability and food availability. We hypothesized that food quality could be a key parameter in the upstream migration of macrocrustaceans. We sampled the main shrimp species and their potential food sources along an altitudinal gradient in the Grand Carbet River of Guadeloupe. Lipid analyses of the different food items reveal that biofilm and drifting organic matter are main sources of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Biofilm is richer in EPA upstream, while drifting material is richer in EPA downstream. These opposed altitudinal gradients are reflected in shrimp lipids depending on whether they feed on biofilm or drifting organic matter. In addition, low EPA levels in shrimp suggest that dietary EPA could be a limiting factor in this system and that this differential altitudinal distribution of EPA could influence shrimp settlement.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by funds from the Agence Française pour la Biodiversité to D. Monti. We thank Anthony Peressz and Antoine Lespagnol for their periodic assistance in fieldwork. The sampling and analyses comply with the current laws of France where they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Écosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), Université des-Antilles, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, SU, UCN, CNRS, IRD, Université des Antilles, Campus de Fouillole, 97110, Pointe-à-Pitre, France

    Lou Frotté, Sébastien Cordonnier & Etienne Bezault

  2. LMGE, CNRS, Université Clermont Auvergne, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Alexandre Bec & Fanny Perrière

  3. Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Écosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), UMR 8067, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, SU, UCN, CNRS, IRD, UA, Station Marine de Concarneau, 29900, Concarneau, France

    Cédric Hubas

  4. UMR Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Université des Antilles, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Campus de Fouillole, 97110, Pointe-à-Pitre, France

    Sébastien Cordonnier & Dominique Monti

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  1. Lou Frotté
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Frotté, L., Bec, A., Hubas, C. et al. Upstream/downstream food quality differences in a Caribbean Island River. Aquat Ecol 56, 311–317 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09887-w

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