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Population regulation in a Neotropical seasonal wetland fish

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 April 2015

Abstract

Density-dependent regulation is a necessary process for the long-term persistence of populations. Nevertheless, ecologists still debate whether floodplain fish populations are subject to density-dependent dynamics or mostly regulated by the density-independent seasonal flooding. We surveyed Jewel tetra (Hyphessonbrycon eques) populations during 4 years in the floodplain lagoons of the Cuiabá River (Brazil) in order to determine if recruitment, growth, and survival are subject to density-dependent effects. We showed that population dynamics of this species are influenced by the seasonal drought, which affects the various life stages of the cohort in different ways. The flood had positive effects on the strength of recruitment, and indirectly affected the probability of survival of recruits during the following dry season as well as on the extinction probability of local populations. Additionally, by facilitating the dispersal of pre-larvae and juvenile recruits, it enables the re-establishment of locally extinct populations during the preceding dry season. Therefore, flooding is essential for the persistence of the species at the regional scale. On the other hand, the limiting conditions during the dry season cause high mortality rates among juveniles. More importantly, the mortality during the dry season is density-dependent and causes changes in population size structure and extinction of local populations, which will affect recruitment in the following year. Our results change the traditional belief that flood alone control population dynamics of fish dwelling in floodplains of larger rivers but a longer survey is required to better understand the effects of drought.

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Acknowledgments

Four anonymous reviewers provided insightful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. We warmly acknowledge the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)/Long-Term Ecological Research Program–PELD–Site 12 and the Pantanal Research Center (CPP)/Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) for their financial support. We are also indebted to Private Natural Heritage Reserve SESC Pantanal and their park’ guards for their logistic support. Alexandro Florentino, Chico Enésio, Chico Bill, Leandro Baginski, Luzia Lourenço, and William Assunção helped with field work. The specimens were collected under the legal authority permits issued by Brazil’s Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). JMFP was supported by a CAPES scholarship and LAFM was further supported by a CNPq grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, 78060-900, Cuiabá, MT, Brazil

    Jerry Penha & Lúcia Mateus

  2. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal, Madrid, 28006, Spain

    Javier Lobón-Cerviá

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  1. Jerry Penha
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Correspondence to Jerry Penha.

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Penha, J., Mateus, L. & Lobón-Cerviá, J. Population regulation in a Neotropical seasonal wetland fish. Environ Biol Fish 98, 1023–1034 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-014-0336-6

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