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Feeding of fish inhabiting native and non-native macrophyte stands in a Neotropical reservoir

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Abstract

Owning to dissimilarity with native macrophytes, invasive macrophytes may negatively affect the diet and foraging efficiency of fishes. We evaluated the invertebrate availability, diet composition, and foraging efficiency of four fish species that use macrophytes as habitat in a native and a highly invasive macrophyte. The samples were taken in a reservoir in Brazil (22° 33′ S, 52°54′ W). We collected invertebrates and fishes simultaneously in macrophyte stands dominated by the invasive Poaceae Urochloa arrecta and the native Eichhornia azurea. We evaluated the foraging efficiency by the total number of prey consumed and by the degree of stomach fullness. We used an approach based on resampling procedures to compare differences in composition of invertebrates, composition of fish diet, and the similarity between invertebrates and fish diet. The abundance of invertebrates and the diet composition differed significantly between plants. On the other hand, fish foraging efficiency did not differ between macrophytes. Despite this lack of difference of foraging efficiency, the lower abundance of food items in the invasive macrophyte and the significant changes in fish diet suggest that U. arrecta is not a favorable feeding habitat for fishes, compared to the native E. azurea.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Associate Editor Katya E. Kovalenko and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments; the Brazilian Council of Research (CNPq) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for financial support and infrastructure for developing this study. N. Carniatto, B. A. Quirino, E. R. Cunha and S. M. Thomaz acknowledge the Brazilian Council of Research (CNPq and CAPES) for providing grants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Natália Carniatto, Eduardo Ribeiro Cunha, Sidinei Magela Thomaz, Bárbara Angélio Quirino & Rosemara Fugi

  2. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Applied Biodiversity Science Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Eduardo Ribeiro Cunha

  3. Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Sidinei Magela Thomaz & Rosemara Fugi

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  1. Natália Carniatto
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  2. Eduardo Ribeiro Cunha
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  3. Sidinei Magela Thomaz
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  4. Bárbara Angélio Quirino
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  5. Rosemara Fugi
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Correspondence to Bárbara Angélio Quirino.

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Handling editor: Katya E. Kovalenko

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Carniatto, N., Cunha, E.R., Thomaz, S.M. et al. Feeding of fish inhabiting native and non-native macrophyte stands in a Neotropical reservoir. Hydrobiologia 847, 1553–1563 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04212-2

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