Synopsis
I studied effects of deforestation on diet and condition of three characid species; Astyanax zonatus, Knodus gamma, and Prionobrama filigera in small streams in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The best condition of K. gamma was found at sites with low canopy cover, while the best condition of P. filigera was found at sites with high canopy cover. Deforestation changed population structure of A. zonatus by decreasing mean size of individuals, but this was not associated with lower fish condition. A. zonatus was omnivorous, and fed equally on invertebrate and plant food. A. zonatus increased feeding on aquatic food items (filamentous algae and fish scales) in the deforested sites (43%) compared to the forested sites (16%). K. gamma was an omnivorous species with preference for invertebrates. K. gamma was mainly feeding on terrestrial food sources in the forested sites, but switched to equal feeding between terrestrial and aquatic food sources in the deforested sites. P. filigera was an terrestrial insectivore feeder, and no differences in the overall food categories was found between stream groups. In contrast, there were no pronounced difference in the composition of invertebrate taxa in the stomachs of K. gamma between stream groups. However, less empty stomachs were observed among K. gamma in the deforested sites. The stomach contents of P. filigera showed great changes in composition of the predominating prey taxa between stream groups and less empty stomachs were observed among P. filigera in the forested sites. Food availability and utilisation seemed to be of main importance for the condition of these fish. Deforestation seems to favour species with high availability to utilise aquatic food items. In contrast, deforestation seems to have negative effects on species that are specialised on terrestrial invertebrates, and have low capacity to switch between aquatic and terrestrial food items.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
P.A. Amundsen H.M. Gabler F.J. Staldvik (1996) ArticleTitleA new approach to graphical analysis of feeding strategy from stomach contents data – modification of the Costello (1990) method J. Fish Biol. 48 607–614
D.J. Behmer C.P. Hawkins (1986) ArticleTitleEffects of overhead canopy on macroinvertebrate production in a Utah streams Freshwater Biol. 16 287–300
B.H. Bojsen R. Barriga (2002) ArticleTitleEffects of deforestation on assemblage structure of fish in Ecuadorian Amazon streams Freshwater Biol 47 2246–2260 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2427.2002.00956.x
B.H. Bojsen D. Jacobsen (2003) ArticleTitleEffects of deforestation on macroinvertebrate diversity and assemblage structure in Ecuadorian Amazon streams Archiv Hydrobiol 158 317–342 Occurrence Handle10.1127/0003-9136/2003/0158-0317
T. Bolger P.L. Connolly (1989) ArticleTitleThe selection of suitable indices for the measurement and analysis of fish condition J. of Fish Biol. 34 171–182
W.W. Cloe G.C. Garman (1996) ArticleTitleThe energetic importance of terrestrial arthropod input to three warm-water streams Freshwater Biol 36 105–114
M.D. Delong M.A. Brusven (1994) ArticleTitleAllochthonous input of organic matter from different Riparian habitats of an agriculturally impacted stream Environ. Manage. 18 59–71
C.H. Dobson A.H. Gentry (1991) ArticleTitleBiological extinction in western Ecuador Ann. Missouri Bot. Garden 78 273–295
Goulding M., 1980. The Fishes and the Forest – Explorations in Amazonian Natural History, University of California Press. 000 pp.
J.S. Harding E.F. Benfield P.V. Bolstad G.S. Helfman E.B.D. Jones (1998) ArticleTitleStream biodiversity: the ghost of land use past Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95 14843–14847 Occurrence Handle10.1073/pnas.95.25.14843 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1cXotVGmur0%3D Occurrence Handle9843977
R. Henry V.S. Uieda A.A. Alfons R.M. Kikuchi (1994) ArticleTitleInput of allochthonous matter and structure of fauna in a Brazilian headstream Verhandlungen IVL 25 1866–1870
M.O. Hill (1979) DECORANA – A FORTRAN Program for Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Reciprocal Averaging Cornell University Ithaca, NY
D. Jacobsen B.H. Bojsen (2002) ArticleTitleMacroinvertebrate drift in Amazonian streams in relation to riparian forest cover and fish fauna Archiv Hydrobiol. 155 177–197
D.B. Jepsen K.O. Winemiller (2002) ArticleTitleStructure of tropical river food webs revealed by stable isotope ratio Oikos 96 46–55
A. Kamdem Toham G.G. Teugels (1999) ArticleTitleFirst data on an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) based on fish assemblages for the assessment of the impact of deforestation in a tropical West African river system Hydrobiologia 397 29–38
A. Kamdem Toham G.G. Teugels (1998) ArticleTitleDiversity patterns of fish assemblage in the Lower Ntem River Basin (Cameroon), with notes on potential effects of deforestation Archiv Hydrobiol 141 421–446
Y. Kawaguchi S. Nakano (2001) ArticleTitleContribution of terrestrial invertebrates to the annual resource budget for salmonids in forest and grassland reaches of a headwater stream Freshwater Biol. 46 303–316
M. Konishi S. Nakano T. Iwata (2001) ArticleTitleTrophic cascading effects of predatory fish on leaf litter processing in a Japanese stream Ecol. Res. 16 415–422
H.A. Knoppel (1970) ArticleTitleFood of central Amazonian fishes Amazoniana 2 257–352
E.D. Le Cren (1951) ArticleTitleThe length–weight relationship and seasonal cycle in gonad weight and condition in the perch (Perca fluviatilis) J. Anim. Ecol. 20 201–219
D.R. Lenat J.K. Crawford (1994) ArticleTitleEffects of land use on water quality and aquatic biota of three North Carolina Piedmont streams Hydrobiologia 924 185–199
R.H. Lowe-McConnell (1975) Fish Communities in Tropical Freshwaters Longman London, England
J. Lyons S. Navarro-Pérez P.A. Cochran M. Guzmán-Arroyo (1995) ArticleTitleIndex of biotic integrity based on fish assemblage structure for the conservation of streams and rivers in west-central Mexico Conserv. Biol. 9 569–584
B.R. Murphy D.W. Willis T.A. Springer (1991) ArticleTitleThe relative weight index in fisheries management: status and needs Fisheries 16 30–38
S. Nakano H. Miyasaka N. Kuhara (1999) ArticleTitleTerrestrial-aquatic linkages: riparian arthropod input alter trophic cascades in a stream food web Ecology 80 2435–2442
D.S. Noel C.W. Martin C.A. Federer (1986) ArticleTitleEffects of forest clearcutting in New England on stream macroinvertebrates and periphyton Environ. Manage. 10 661–670
Poulsen B.O., (1993). Introduktion til general økologi i tropisk regnskov, Zoologisk Museum Københavns Universitet
J. Pozo E. González J.R. Díez J. Molinero A. Elósegui (1997) ArticleTitleInputs of particulate organic matter to streams with different riparian vegetation J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc 16 602–611
S. Sabater A. Butturini I. Muñoz A. Ramani J. Wray F. Sabater (1998) ArticleTitleEffects of removal of riparian vegetation on algae and heterotrophs in a Mediterranean stream J. of Aqua. Ecosyst Stress Recov. 6 129–140
W.G. Saul (1975) ArticleTitleAn ecological study of fishes at a site in upper Amazonian Ecuador Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadel. 127 93–134
B.W. Sweeney (1993) ArticleTitleEffects of streamside vegetation on macroinvertebrates communities of White Clay Creek in Eastern North America Pro. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadel. 144 291–340
A. Vila-Gispert L. Zamora R. Moreno-Amich (2000) ArticleTitleUse of the condition of Mediterranean barbel (Barbus meridionalis) to assess habitat quality in stream systems Archiv Hydrobiol. 148 135–145
A.H. Weatherley H.S. Gill (1987) The Biology of Fish Growth Academic Press London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bojsen, B.H. Diet and condition of three fish species (Characidae) of the Andean foothills in relation to deforestation. Environ Biol Fish 73, 61–73 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-004-5330-y
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-004-5330-y