Population dynamics of Prochilodus nigricans (Characiformes: Prochilodontidae) in the Putumayo River

Abstract

The black prochilodus (Prochilodus nigricans) is one of the most landed scaled fish species of the middle and upper parts of the Putumayo River, in the tri-national area between Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Despite its importance, biological information about this species is too scant to guide fisheries management in this portion of the Colombian Amazon. In this study, 10884 individuals were sampled in the fish markets of Puerto Leguízamo between 2009 and 2017. This sampling was used to document reproductive patterns, but also growth and mortality parameters from length frequency distributions. The size at which all fish were mature was 22 cm Ls, which should be the established as the minimum size of capture to ensure that all fish have had a chance to reproduce before being caught. Growth and mortality parameters indicated a slower growth in the Putumayo than in other Amazonian rivers and a relatively high exploitation rate.

Conservation of migratory fishes in the Amazon basin

“…Owing to their basin‐wide migrations, B. rousseauxii and B. vaillantii are particularly at risk: whereas their adult populations are already heavily fished or overexploited in the lower (Araújo Cruz, 2020) and upper Amazon basin (Agudelo et al, 2013; Garcia Vasquez et al, 2009; Petrere, Barthem, Agudelo, & Gomez, 2004), juveniles of these species at present support the largest Amazonian industrial fishery in the lower Amazon (Alonso & Pirker, 2005; Barthem & Goulding, 2007). Overharvesting, however, is no longer limited to large species and was recently also suggested to affect regionally some of the smaller Characiformes that now make up most of the catches, such as P. nigricans (Bonilla‐Castillo, Agudelo, Gómez, & Duponchelle, 2018; Catarino, Campos, Garcez, & Freitas, 2014) or Psectrogaster spp. (Garcia Vasquez, Vargas, Sánchez, Tello, & Duponchelle, 2016).…”

“…Although basin-wide evidence of overfishing is still rare, many traitbased studies over the last few decades have offered evidence for regional overfishing of most large, high-valued species, such as the second-largest scaled fish of the Amazon, C. macropomum (Campos, Garcez, Catarino, Costa, & Freitas, 2015;Isaac & Ruffino, 1996) Cruz, 2020) and upper Amazon basin (Agudelo et al, 2013;Petrere, Barthem, Agudelo, & Gomez, 2004), juveniles of these species at present support the largest Amazonian industrial fishery in the lower Amazon (Alonso & Pirker, 2005;Barthem & Goulding, 2007). Overharvesting, however, is no longer limited to large species and was recently also suggested to affect regionally some of the smaller Characiformes that now make up most of the catches, such as P. nigricans (Bonilla-Castillo, Agudelo, Gómez, & Duponchelle, 2018;Catarino, Campos, Garcez, & Freitas, 2014) or…”

RELACIÓN LONGITUD-PESO Y FACTOR DE CONDICIÓN DE Prochilodus nigricans Y Potamorhina altamazonica EN LA CUENCA DEL RÍO TAHUAYO, LORETO (PERÚ)

“…La literatura existente muestra resultados solo para 56 especies, de un total de 1 141 especies reportadas para aguas continentales peruanas (MINAM, 2019). Los estudios han sido obtenidos a partir de datos colectados en estanques piscícolas (Felipa et al, 2016), a partir de desembarques en principales centros urbanos (Riofrío, 2002;García et al, 2010;Flores-Gómez, 2015;Riofrío-Quijandría et al, 2017;Bonilla-Castillo et al, 2018), y en algunos casos para determinadas cuencas (Alcántara et al, 2008;Tobes et al, 2015;Chuctaya et al, 2017;García-Ayala, 2017). Prochilodus nigricans (Familia Prochilodontidae) y Potamorhina altamazonica (Familia Curimatidae) son dos especies de gran importancia en la economía regional de Loreto.…”

Hidden diversity in Prochilodus nigricans: A new genetic lineage within the Tapajós River basin

“…Known as Black prochilodus or curimbatá, P. nigricans is an abundant species that initiates spawning migration as soon as the flooding season starts [7,8]. With a detritivorous diet, this fish plays an essential functional role in ecosystems by modulating the fluxes of energy and nutrients [9][10][11][12]. P. nigricans also assumes an important economic and social role in Brazil, since it is one of the dominant species in local fisheries and highly used by the riverine community for subsistence [13,14].…”

“…nigricans is an abundant species that initiates spawning migration as soon as the flooding season starts [ 7 , 8 ]. With a detritivorous diet, this fish plays an essential functional role in ecosystems by modulating the fluxes of energy and nutrients [ 9 – 12 ]. P .…”