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Effect of water quality on growth of four fish species in the Iténez basin (Upper Madera, Amazon)

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Abstract

Fish growth is an indicator of populations’ life conditions that could be used to detect stress due to contamination. In this study, age of fishes of four species (Psectrogaster essequibensis, Schizodon fasciatus, Triportheus angulatus and Pygocentrus nattereri) from the Iténez basin (Upper Madera, Amazon) were estimated by otolith readings, and growth parameters were estimated by using the Von Bertalanffy Growth Function. Populations of four sites were compared in order to detect the effect of natural and anthropogenical water chemistry differences. One of these sites was directly impacted by gold mining activities whereas the three others were only influenced by mild human activities and presented white or clear waters. Species growth coefficient (K) varied from 0.28 (P. nattereri), to 0.39 (P. essequibensis), 0.69 (S. fasciatus) and 1.71 (T. angulatus). Due to the limited size samples, these values have to be considered as preliminary regional approximation. For S. fasciatus, P. nattereri and T. angulatus, residuals analysis of the growth function showed differences among the three unimpacted sites. However, each species exhibited different patterns of growth variations among sites, thus preventing to clearly demonstrate a general effect of water chemistry on the fish growth of these populations. On the contrary, for these three species fish growth appeared weaker in the gold-mining site.

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Acknowledgements

This work was part of the IRD funded project “Trophic Ecology of Amazonian Aquatic Systems” (JEAI-EMAA), received supports from IRD-UR131 and WWF Bolivia funded project (KN10 WWF-IRD agreement) and logistical support of Iténez departmental park (PD-AMNI Iténez) and Beni Prefecture. We would like to thank WWF-Trinidad team, and all the people who helped in the field work, especially the fishermen and boat pilots: Hermogenes Ribero Rodriguez, Tomas Suarez, José Vasquez and their families. We are also grateful for the warm welcome in the Iténez communities of Bella Vista, Remanso, Mategua and Versalles. We are grateful to Jesus Nuñez (IRD) to helpful comments and Tarik Meziane (MNHN Paris) for style correction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Mayor de San Simón - Unidad de Limnología y Recursos Acuáticos (ULRA), Cochabamba, Bolivia

    Esther López Siangas, Marc Pouilly, Adamit Vallejos, Tamara Pérez & Danny Rejas

  2. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) – UMR Borea, MNHN, 61 rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France

    Marc Pouilly

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  1. Esther López Siangas
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  2. Marc Pouilly
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  3. Adamit Vallejos
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  4. Tamara Pérez
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  5. Danny Rejas
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Correspondence to Marc Pouilly.

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López Siangas, E., Pouilly, M., Vallejos, A. et al. Effect of water quality on growth of four fish species in the Iténez basin (Upper Madera, Amazon). Environ Biol Fish 95, 371–381 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0011-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0011-8

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