An initial assessment of drought sensitivity in Amazonian fish communities

Freitas, Carlos Edwar de Carvalho; Siqueira‐Souza, Flávia K.; Humston, Robert; Hurd, Lawrence E.

doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1394-4

Cited by 52 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Another possible explanation is what is termed the fertilizer hypothesis. We are in agreement with Freitas et al (2013), that the increased levels of algivore and detritivore species might be an indication that the abundance of fish carcasses and growth of terrestrial plants on exposed soil during extended low water periods provide elevated nutrient levels in returning flood waters, which benefit fish that feed on algae or decomposing vegetation. This type of nutrient enrichment should affect other biotic interactions, including changes in the normal intensity of predatorprey relationships (Davis et al 2010).…”

Section: Source Of Variationsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Freitas et al (2013) studied the floodplains assemblages during the same time period of the present study and observed a disproportionate post-drought increase in abundance among fish species that develop annual migrations as part of their life cycles. These species are more resistant to extreme drought because they can explore other perennial environments.…”

Section: Source Of Variationmentioning

confidence: 68%

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Intra- and inter-annual changes in the condition factors of three Curimatidae detritivores from Amazonian floodplain lakes

2015

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. Intra-and inter-annual changes in the condition factors of three Curimatidae detritivores from Amazonian floodplain lakes. Biota Neotropica. 15(4):http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2014-0001Abstract: The flood pulse is a key factor that drives the biota of large rivers with adjacent floodplains, but the direction and intensity of its effects are not uniform for all trophic guilds of fish. In this study, we tested the existence of intra-and inter-annual changes in the relative condition factors (kn) of three Curimatidae: Potamorhina altamazonica, Potamorhina latior, and Psectrogaster rutiloides. We used weight and length data from fish that were caught in eight floodplain lakes of the Rio Solimões. These data were from experimental fisheries during each season of the hydrological cycle: flooding, flood, drying, and dry from 2004, 2005, and 2006. In general, there are similar patterns of intra-annual changes for these three species, with the highest estimates of kn during high water conditions. The lowest values were observed during the drying and dry seasons of 2005, when an extreme drought occurred in the Amazon basin. Higher values were observed during the same seasons in the year post-drought. We hypothesized that these patterns would be explained by the biological characteristics of these species and the effects of intra-annual hydrological changes, mainly the flood pulse effect, and by inter-annual climatic events, which are determined by global climate phenomena. Keywords: Weight-length relationship, Curimatidae, environmental effects, relative condition factor, floodplain lakes.CORREIA, G.B., SIQUEIRA-SOUZA, F.K., FREITAS, C.E.C. Variac¸ão intra e interanual do fator de condic¸ão de três espécies detritívoras de Curimatidae em lagos de várzea da Amazônia. Biota Neotropica.15(4): http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2014-0001Resumo: O pulso de inundac¸ão é considerado um fator chave no direcionamento da biota de grandes rios associados a área de várzea, mas a direc¸ão e intensidade dos efeitos do pulso de inundac¸ão não são uniformes para todas as guildas tróficas dos peixes. Neste estudo, nós testamos a existência de mudanc¸as intra e interanuais no fator de condic¸ão (Kn) de três curimatideos: Potamorhina altamazonica, Potamorhina latior e Psectrogaster rutiloides.

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Section: Source Of Variationsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Source Of Variationmentioning

confidence: 68%

Intra- and inter-annual changes in the condition factors of three Curimatidae detritivores from Amazonian floodplain lakes

2015

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“…There was an extreme drought in this region during 2005 as a result of combined effects of El Nino Southern Oscillation -ENSO and abnormally elevated sea surface temperatures in the southern area of the North Atlantic (Marengo, 1992;Marengo et al, 2008). This drought affected both terrestrial (Phillips et al, 2009) and aquatic (Freitas et al, 2013) ecosystems in this region. We therefore have data from our fish assemblages immediately before, during, and following the drought.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, these floodplains are currently under increasing threat from climate change and resultant modifications to the hydrologic cycle (Melack and Coe, 2013). The intra-annual hydrologic cycle caused by the normal flood pulse is exacerbated by the warming sea-surface temperatures in the Tropical Atlantic, as well as by events such as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon (Marengo et al, 2013), which in turn can have dramatic impacts on aquatic organisms in the Amazon Basin (Freitas et al, 2013). These relatively recent changes could well be outside the adaptive range of many species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These relatively recent changes could well be outside the adaptive range of many species. Recent studies indicate that increasing the frequency of extreme events of flood and drought could disrupt the ecological and evolutionary balance of this ecosystem with unpredictable consequences (Freitas et al, 2013). Fish species at risk may include some that are important protein sources for residents of the Amazon Basin, as well as those that may be important to maintaining the ecological integrity of the system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Condition factor variations over time and trophic position among four species of Characidae from Amazonian floodplain lakes: effects of an anomalous drought

et al. 2017

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The effects of extreme droughts on freshwater fish remain unknown worldwide. In this paper, we estimated the condition factor, a measure of relative fitness based on the relationship of body weight to length, in four fish species representing two trophic levels (omnivores and piscivores) from Amazonian floodplain lakes for three consecutive years: 2004, 2005 (an anomalous drought year), and 2006. The two omnivores, Colossoma macropomum and Mylossoma duriventre, exhibited trends consistent with their life cycles in 2004 and 2006: high values during the hydrologic seasons of high water, receding water, and low water, with a drop following reproduction following the onset of rising water. However during the drought year of 2005 the condition factor was much lower than normal during receding and low water seasons, probably as a result of an abnormal reduction in resource availability in a reduced habitat. The two piscivorous piranhas, Serrasalmus spilopleura and S. elongatus, maintained relatively stable values of condition factor over the hydrologic cycles of all three years, with no apparent effect of the drought, probably because the reduction in habitat is counterbalanced by the resulting increase in relative prey density. We suggest that if predictions of increasing drought in the Amazon are correct, predatory species may benefit, at least in the short run, while omnivores may be negatively affected. Keywords

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Climate change sensitivity of threatened, and largely unprotected, Amazonian fishes

Frederico

Olden

Zuanon

2016

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Climate change is poised to have fundamental impacts on the freshwater environments of the Amazon River Basin, and protected areas are routinely proposed as a possible management strategy to conserve freshwater fishes. However, there remains a paucity of information regarding the sensitivity of threatened fish species to climateinduced changes in water quantity and quality.2. An expert-based survey was used to address the following questions: (1) Are currently threatened fish species in Brazil also sensitive to projected effects of climate change? (2) Does the current conservation status of fish species also reflect their degree of sensitivity to climate change? and (3) What are the specific aspects of climate change that are likely to contribute the most to species sensitivity?3. Survey respondents evaluated 35 species (11 families) representing 50% of the threatened species in the Brazilian Amazon. The results suggest that the majority of threatened Brazilian fish species are considered highly sensitive to climate change impacts.4. Climate-induced changes in water quality were, on average, considered a greater threat to species persistence than potential changes in water quantity. Survey results also suggest that fishes exhibit high sensitivity to changes in temperature and dissolved oxygen, and moderate to high sensitivity to changes in high-flow (i.e. flood) and low-flow (i.e. drought) regimes. 5. A considerable mismatch was found between species conservation status and sensitivity to climate change, suggesting that perceptions of present-day extinction risk do not necessarily provide insight into future risks associated with climate change.6. Species sensitivity to climate change showed no relationship to dispersal ability, indicating that protected areas may serve as important refugia for those species unable to keep pace with climate change. Despite this, the number and size of protected areas in Brazil have decreased over the past decade, largely to support the exploitation of hydropower and mining. Strategic conservation planning that involves existing and new protected areas for those species most at risk to climate change is warranted.

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An initial assessment of drought sensitivity in Amazonian fish communities

Cited by 52 publications

References 27 publications

Intra- and inter-annual changes in the condition factors of three Curimatidae detritivores from Amazonian floodplain lakes

Intra- and inter-annual changes in the condition factors of three Curimatidae detritivores from Amazonian floodplain lakes

Condition factor variations over time and trophic position among four species of Characidae from Amazonian floodplain lakes: effects of an anomalous drought

Climate change sensitivity of threatened, and largely unprotected, Amazonian fishes

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