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Seasonal changes in the use of feeding resources by fish in stands of aquatic macrophytes in an Amazonian floodplain, Brazil

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Abstract

This study aimed to characterize the food intake by the fish assemblage inhabiting aquatic macrophytes stands, evaluating the changes in food availability among the periods of the hydrologic cycle and the trophic responses of the fish assemblage along with food availability. Fish sampling was conducted in stands of aquatic macrophytes (predominantly Paspalum repens, Poaceae) along banks of the Trombetas River during the four hydrologic periods (rising, high, receding, and low water level) that represent different phenological conditions of the habitat. The food consumption by the fish assemblage was analyzed for 41 species with stomach contents. The assemblage fed mainly on aquatic insects, periphytic algae and detritus. Food availability analysis showed that food resources changed among periods. Fifteen species were present in more than one period and most of those species showed dietary changes along with the hydrologic cycle, feeding mainly on invertebrates in the rising water period and periphytic algae and detritus in receding and low water periods. Only four species showed sufficient numbers to be analyzed in relation to diet and food availability along the at least three hydrologic periods, two of which showed a positive correlation between diet and food availability for three of the four periods; the other two species did not show this correlation, and presented omnivorous habits. In all cases, the selectivity values for the most important food items were near zero, indicating that intake was not motivated by feeding preference. Our results suggest that both trophic plasticity and omnivorous diets are important adaptations for species that inhabit temporally variable habitats such as aquatic macrophytes stands.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) that provided a study grant to CPR and a productivity grant to JZ (process 307464/2009-1); Mineração Rio do Norte provided funding for collecting trips and support for field activities. The study was conducted according to current rules established by INPA’s Ethics Committee in 2012. We are grateful to Tiago H. S. Pires for his comments about the text and helping in English review of the manuscript and to anonymous reviewer provided constructive comments that significantly improved the original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia de Água Doce e Pesca Interior/Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA, Cx. Postal 2223, 69080-971, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Cristhiana P. Röpke

  2. Coordenação de Biodiversidade – CBIO/Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA, Cx. Postal 2223, 69080-971, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Efrem Ferreira & Jansen Zuanon

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  1. Cristhiana P. Röpke
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  2. Efrem Ferreira
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  3. Jansen Zuanon
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Correspondence to Cristhiana P. Röpke.

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Table A1

Food resources (and respective IAi values) consumed by fish species throughout the hydrologic cycle (all hydrologic periods pooled). Food items with high IAi values are marked in bold face. The full names of the species are presented in Table 1). (DOC 202 kb)

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Röpke, C.P., Ferreira, E. & Zuanon, J. Seasonal changes in the use of feeding resources by fish in stands of aquatic macrophytes in an Amazonian floodplain, Brazil. Environ Biol Fish 97, 401–414 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0160-4

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