Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Trophic ecology of benthic fish assemblages in a lowland river in the Brazilian Amazon

  • Published:
Aquatic Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Studies on the trophic ecology of fish have revealed considerable alimentary plasticity for the majority of ichthyofauna in tropical rivers. This leads to the prediction that diet reflects the availability of food in the environment, namely seasonal variation in the abundance and type of food resources. To examine this, we assess: (1) seasonal variation in the diet and trophic structure of assemblages of benthic fish inhabiting the main channel of a large floodplain river in the Brazilian Amazon, (2) seasonal changes in the availability of food resources, (3) the trophic response (food selectivity) of benthic species in relation to food availability and (4) niche overlap among benthic species. Data were collected during 2 rising and 2 receding phases. Aquatic insects, plant matter and detritus were the predominant items in the diet of assemblages of benthic fish. The majority of fish species changed their diet between seasons. The diets of Exallodontus aguanai and Sternarchella calhamazon were studied in detail and showed positive correlation with food resource availability. Feeding selectivity varied among seasons for these two species. Niche overlap between these two species was observed during only one receding season. Our results reveal the importance of aquatic insects in the predominantly omnivorous diet of the benthic fish assemblages. Trophic plasticity was also evident, possibly because of the seasonal availability of food items. These results underline the role that organic matter derived from floodplains plays in this aquatic system which is characterised as having naturally low autochthonous productivity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abelha MCF, Agostinho AA, Goulart E (2001) Plasticidade trófica em peixes de água doce. Acta Scientiarum 23:425–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Abrams P (1980) Some comments on measuring niche overlap. Ecology 61:44–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albert JS (2001) Species diversity and phylogenetic systematics of American knifefishes (Gymnotiformes, Teleostei), vol 190. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, pp 1–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrade MC, Fitzgerald DB, Winemiller KO, Barbosa PS, Giarrizzo T (2019) Trophic niche segregation among herbivorous serrasalmids from rapids of the lower Xingu River, Brazilian Amazon. Hydrobiologia 829:265

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arrington DA, Winemiller KO (2003) Diel changeover in sandbank fish assemblages in a neotropical floodplain river. J Fish Biol 63:442–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barletta M, Blaber SJM (2007) Comparison of fish assemblages and guilds in tropical habitats of the Embley (Indo-West Pacific) and Caeté (western Atlantic) estuaries. Bull Mar Sci 80:647–680

    Google Scholar 

  • Barthem RB, Goulding M (1997) The catfish connection: ecology, migration and conservation of Amazon predators. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayley PB, Petrere M Jr (1989) Amazon fisheries: assessment methods, current status and management options. In: Dodeg DP (ed) Proceedings of the large rives symposium. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 106, pp 385–398

  • Bowen SH (1984) Detritivory in neotropical fish communities. Environ Biol Fishes 9:137–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess WE (1989) An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes: a preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. T.F.H Publications, Neptune City

    Google Scholar 

  • Cella-Ribeiro A, Assakawa LF, Torrente-Vilara G, Zuanon J, Leite RG, Doria C, Duponchelle F (2015) Temporal and spatial distribution of young Brachyplatystoma spp. (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) along the rapids stretch of the Madeira River (Brazil) before the construction of two hydroelectric dams. J Fish Biol 86:1429–1437

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Claro L Jr, Ferreira E, Zuanon J, Araujo-Lima C (2004) O efeito da floresta alagada na alimentação de três espécies de peixes onívoros em lagos de várzea da Amazônia Central, Brasil. Acta Amazonica 34:133–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox-Fernandes C (1997) Lateral migration of fishes in Amazon floodplains. Ecol Freshw Fish 6:36–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox-Fernandes C, Podos J, Lundberg JG (2004) Amazonian ecology: tributaries enhance the diversity of electric fishes. Science 305:1960–1962

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crampton WGR (2007) Diversity and adaptation in deep-channel Neotropical electric fishes. In: Sebert P, Onyango DW, Kapoor BG (eds) Fish life in special environments. Science Publishers, New Hampshire, pp 283–339

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaspar da Luz KD, Abujanra F, Agostinho AA, Gomes LC (2001) Caracterização trófica da ictiofauna de três lagoas da planície aluvial do alto rio Paraná, Brasil. Acta Scientiarum 23:401–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerking SD (1994) Feeding ecology of fish. Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ, Ellison AM (2013) EcoSimR: null models for ecology, version 1.00. http://www.uvm.edu/~ngotelli/EcoSim/EcoSim.html. Accessed 15 Nov 2014

  • Goulding M (1980) The fishes and the forest: explorations in Amazonian natural history. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulding M, Carvalho ML, Ferreira EG (1988) Rio Negro: rich life in poor water. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulding M, Barthem R, Ferreira EG (2003) The Smithsonian atlas of the Amazon. Smithsonian Books, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoeinghaus DJ, Winemiller KO, Birnbaum JS (2006) Local and regional determinants of stream fish assemblage structure: inference based on taxonomic vs. functional group. J Biogeogr 34:324–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Junk WJ, Bayley PB, Sparks RE (1989) The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems. In: Dodge DP (ed) Proceedings of the international large river symposium. Canadian special publication of fisheries and aquatic sciences, vol 106, pp 110–127

  • Kacelnik A (1984) Central place foraging in starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). I. Patch residence time. J Anim Ecol 53:283–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kawakami E, Vazzoler G (1980) Método gráfico e estimativa de índice alimentar aplicado no estudo de alimentação de peixes. Braz J Oceanogr 29:205–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kie JC (1999) Optimal foraging and risk of predation: effects on behavior and social structure in ungulates. J Mammal 80:1114–1129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lechowich M (1982) The sampling characteristics of electivity indices. Oecologia 52:22–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe-McConnell RH (1987) Ecological studies in tropical fish communities. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg JG, Lewis WM, Saunders JF, Mago-Leccia F (1987) A major food web component in the Orinoco River channel: evidence from planktivorous electric fishes. Science 237:81–83

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur RH, Pianka ER (1966) On optimal use of a patchy environment. Am Nat 100:603–609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margalef R (1986) Ecologia. Omega Ediciones, Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

  • Marrero C (1987) Notas preliminares acerca de la historia natural de los peces del Bajo Llano. I. Comparacion de los habitos alimentarios de três especies de peces gymnotiformes en el Rio Apure (Edo Apure, Venezuela). Hydrobiol Trop 20:57–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Montaña CG, Winemiller KO (2010) Local-scale habitat influences morphological diversity of species assemblages of cichlid fishes in a tropical floodplain river. Ecol Freshw Fish 19:216–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mortillaro JM, Pouilly M, Wach M, Freitas CEC, Abril G, Meziane T (2015) Trophic opportunism of central Amazon floodplain fish. Freshw Biol 60:1659–1670

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson JS (1994) Fishes of the world, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson CC, Keppeler FW, Saenz DE, Bower LM, Winemiller KO (2017) Seasonal variation in fish trophic networks in two clear-water streams in the Central Llanos region, Venezuela. Neotrop Ichthyol 15:e160125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pianka ER (1994) Evolutionary ecology. Harper Collins College, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2017) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.r-project.org/. Accessed 15 Nov 2014

  • Röpke CP, Ferreira E, Zuanon J (2013) Seasonal changes in the use of feeding resources by fish in stands of aquatic macrophytes in an Amazonian floodplain, Brazil. Environ Biol Fishes 97:401–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sale P (1974) Overlap in resource use and interspecific competition. Oecologia 17:245–256

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sih A, Christensen B (2001) Optimal diet theory: when does it work, and when and why does it fail? Anim Behav 61:379–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart DJ, Ibarra M, Barriga-Salazar RE (2002) Comparison of deep-river and sandy-beach fish assemblages in the Napo River basin, eastern Ecuador. Copeia 2002:333–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomé-Souza MJF, Chao NL (2004) Spatial and temporal variation of benthic fish assemblages during the extreme drought of 1997-98 (El Niño) in the midlle rio Negro, Amazônia, Brazil. Neotrop Ichthyol 2:127–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend CR (2003) Individual, population, community, and ecosystem consequences of a fish invader in New Zealand streams. Conserv Biol 17:38–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uieda VS, Motta RL (2007) Trophic organization and food web structure of southeastern Brazilian streams: a review. Acta Limnol Bras 19:15–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Vannote R, Minshall GW, Cummins KW, Sedell JR, Cushing CE (1980) The river continuum concept. Can Spec Publ Fish Aquat Sci 37:130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winemiller KO (1995) The structural and functional aspects of fish diversity. Bulletin Francais de la Peche et de la Pisciculture 337/338/339:23–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winemiller KO (1996) Factors driving temporal and spatial variation in aquatic floodplain food web. In: Polis GA, Winemiller KO (eds) Food webs: integration of patterns and dynamics. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Hingham, pp 298–312

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Winemiller KO, Jepsen DB (1998) Effects of seasonality and fish movement on tropical river food webs. J Fish Biol 53:267–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winemiller KO, Kelso-Winemiller LC (1996) Comparative ecology of catfishes of the Upper Zambezi River floodplain. J Fish Biol 49:1043–1061

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winemiller KO, Pianka ER (1990) Organization in natural assemblages of desert lizards and tropical fishes. Ecol Monogr 60:27–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaret TM, Rand AS (1971) Competition in tropical stream fishes: support for the competitive exclusion principle. Ecology 52:336–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Instituto Piagaçu (IPi) for the financial and logistical support during the Peixes da Floresta Project (Programa Petrobrás Ambiental). C. Duarte and C. Deus acknowledge support from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq Universal # 474421/2011-2) and Amazonas Research Funding Agency (FAPEAM Universal Amazonas # 021/2011). C. Duarte received Doctoral Sandwich Program Abroad (PDSE CAPES # 99999.003747/2014-00). A. Magurran acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC BioTIME # 250189) and the Royal Society. J. Zuanon received a productivity grant from the CNPq (# 313183/2014-7).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia de Água Doce e Pesca Interior, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis, Manaus, AM, 69011-830, Brazil

    Cleber Duarte

  2. Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TH, UK

    Anne E. Magurran

  3. Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis, Manaus, AM, 69011-830, Brazil

    Jansen Zuanon & Cláudia P. Deus

Authors
  1. Cleber Duarte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anne E. Magurran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jansen Zuanon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cláudia P. Deus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cleber Duarte.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Handling Editor: Telesphore Sime-Ngando.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Duarte, C., Magurran, A.E., Zuanon, J. et al. Trophic ecology of benthic fish assemblages in a lowland river in the Brazilian Amazon. Aquat Ecol 53, 707–718 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-019-09720-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-019-09720-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation