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Hydrologic variability effects on catches of Prochilodus nigricans in the lower Amazon

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Abstract

Flooding events in large rivers, termed flood pulses, expand and contract habitat available for fish populations, affecting fish abundance and catches. Here, we investigated if river hydrologic variability affected catch of curimatã (Prochilodus nigricans), a widely distributed and economically important fish species of the Amazon Basin. Using fish catch and fishing effort data for the lower Amazon region collected between 1993 and 2004, we performed an (i) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to understand the intra-annual relationship, and (ii) a cross-correlation function (CCF) to assess the inter-annual lag associated between river water levels and catches. We found that the intra-annual relationship between monthly river water levels and monthly catches of P. nigricans was negative, resulting in greater catches during lower river water levels and vice versa. We also found positive correlations with an inter-annual lag of 15-months between river water levels and catch, indicating that years with more extensive flooding lead to greater than normal catches of P. nigricans 15 months later. Increased flooding can be hypothesized to lead to increased survival and growth rates of P. nigricans. This dependency of catches of P. nigricans on river hydrological cycles underscores the threat posed by ongoing hydrological alterations to fish-related food and income security in the region. Further research is necessary to assess the extent to which such hydrological effects can impact multispecies fisheries catches in light of growing levels of fishing pressure.

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Availability of data and material

The environmental and fisheries data that support the findings of this study are openly available in figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.10072418.v1.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Pará Amazon Foundation for Research Support (FAPESPA) in partnership with the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) through the Technical and Academic Cooperation Agreement, process No. 23038.008515/2013-59, for granting a doctoral scholarship (D. Barros). NASA’s Land-Cover and Land-Use Change program (grant # NNX12AD27G) provided funding for L.C. and V.J.I., and NASA’s Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Sciences program (grant # NNX14AD29G) provided funding for L.C. We are also grateful to the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies (PROPESP/UFPA) under the Qualified Publication Support Program (PAPQ) for providing the translation service expenses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Núcleo de Ecologia Aquática e Pesca da Amazônia (NEAP), Laboratório de Biologia Pesqueira e Manejo de Recursos Aquáticos, Universidade Federal do Pará, Av. Perimetral 2651, Belém, PA, 66077-830, Brazil

    Daniela Barros, Miguel Petrere Jr. & Victoria Judith Isaac

  2. Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, West Campus Drive, 310, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Leandro Castello

  3. Universidade Federal Oeste do Pará, Campos Monte Alegre, Tv. Major Francisco Mariano S/N, Monte Alegre, PA, 68220-000, Brazil

    Paulo Brasil Santos

  4. Departamento de Matemática e Estatística, Universidade Federal de São João Del-Rei, Praça Frei Orlando, 170, São João del-Rei, MG, 36307-352, Brazil

    Davi Butturi-Gomes

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  1. Daniela Barros
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  2. Miguel Petrere Jr.
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  3. Leandro Castello
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  4. Paulo Brasil Santos
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  6. Victoria Judith Isaac
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All authors made substantial contributions to the design of the study and approved the final version. All authors assisted the lead author in the analysis and interpretation of the results. VJI and MP were involved at all stages of manuscript preparation, helping to draft the manuscript and reviewing it.

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Correspondence to Daniela Barros.

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Barros, D., Petrere, M., Castello, L. et al. Hydrologic variability effects on catches of Prochilodus nigricans in the lower Amazon. Aquat Sci 83, 22 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-021-00782-y

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