Abstract
We investigated two inter-related questions: How is the fruit consumption rate affected by fish assembly and how does an increase in fruit production alter fish composition and richness? To answer these questions, we carried out two complementary experiments in a karst tropical stream, Brazil, South America. First, we measured the fish assemblage composition before, during and after the addition of fruit under fruit producing trees. Added fruit increased differentiation of fish between up-stream and down-stream sites over time. Fish composition under fruit-producing trees was distinct from adjacent sites. Second, we set Inga laurina (Fabaceae) fruits on the stream bottom and measured the consumption time. We also analyzed if the fishes that consumed the fruits differed among 41 sites. Fish assemblage structure partially explained the observed consumption rate for the fish assemblages. Our study provides new information on how fruit input and the location of fruiting trees can induce spatial segregation within freshwater fish communities. Our results can help improving management plans for conservation and restoration of headwater streams, including the locations of riparian fruit trees that provide resources and promote hotspots of ecological interactions for freshwater communities.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Luiza Coelho and Eduardo Coelho for granting research permits and the Grupo Rio da Prata for staff support during our fieldwork. Thanks to Vanessa Silva das Chagas and Willian Nassar for the help with the fieldwork and to Douglas Alves Lopes for helping ID the fish species. Thanks to Rômullo Oliveira Louzada for helping with the map of our study area. Thanks to two reviewers and the associate editor for their comments that helped improve the paper. F.L.S was supported by a research grant from CNPq (301306/2018-4). F.V.N was supported by grant #2021/13299-0, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).
A.P.C. was supported by a Fulbright Fellowship.
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This study was funded by grants from The Rufford Foundation (Grant Number 27695–1).
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This research was approved by the university ethics committee “COMISSÃO DE ÉTICA NO USO DE ANIMAIS/CEUA DA UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MATO GROSSO DO SUL/UFMS, na 3ª reunião ordinária do dia 23/04/2019.”
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Nogueira, D.G., Valente-Neto, F., Covich, A.P. et al. Riparian fruit input partially affects the distribution of stream fishes. Hydrobiologia 850, 3161–3172 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05242-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05242-2