Fish spawning in a large temperate floodplain: the role of flooding and temperature

Abstract

1. Floodplains are a key habitat for foraging, spawning and as a nursery for many riverine fish species. The lower Volga floodplains (Russian Federation) are still relatively undisturbed, while in Europe and North America, about 90% of floodplains have effectively been lost. 2. We examined relationships between the extent and timing of the spring flood, lateral spawning movements of fish species and timing and duration of spawning in the floodplain by sampling during spring 2006 and 2007. 3. Only the spawning of rheophilic species, that released their eggs in the floodplain, coincided with the flood. In contrast, the timing of spawning by eurytopic and limnophilic species was unrelated to flooding. 4. For most fish species, we found no indication that the majority of spawners in the floodplain originated from the main river channel, with the exception of sabrefish Pelecus cultratus. 5. We postulate that in the vast Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, fish spawning stocks mainly originate from permanent floodplain waterbodies, whereas hydrological conditions are dominated by the river. Both the river and waterbodies on the floodplain may serve as sources for recolonisation after local extinction because of extreme environmental conditions, such as freezing or desiccation.

Broad-scale ecosystem services of European wetlands—overview of the current situation and future perspectives under different climate and water management scenarios

“…Floodplains and lowlands inundated in spring provide relatively warmer water than in the river channel. Such areas are widely used by early foraging fry (Górski et al 2010). In the case of some freshwater fish species, a relationship was observed between the flood frequency and the efficiency of natural spawning (Petr 2005).…”

Effects of Environmental Factors on Natural Reproduction of the Four Major Chinese Carps in the Yangtze River, China

“…The value of floods for fish spawning and growth has been discussed by many authors (Welcomme, 1979;Trifonova, 1983;Balcombe and Arthington, 2009;Górski et al, 2010) with their timing, duration, and extent suggested as the determining factors. Seasonal flooding may increase connectivity between floodplain water bodies and facilitate the exchange of nutrients, organisms and energy between aquatic and terrestrial compartments of river ecosystems (Thomaz et al, 2007).…”

Determination of an appropriate ecological hydrograph for a rare fish species using an improved fish habitat suitability model introducing landscape ecology index

“…Methods of habitat suitability modeling are experiencing increasing popularity in the evaluation of ecological flow (Aadland, 1993;Lamouroux and Capra, 2002;Lamouroux and Souchon, 2002;Lee et al, 2006Lee et al, , 2010Chaput-Bardy et al, 2009;Colvin et al, 2009;Barletta et al, 2010;Freitas et al, 2010;Gorski et al, 2010;Hermoso et al, 2010;Jimenez-Segura et al, 2010). The most classical of these is the instream flow incremental methodology (IFIM) developed by the U.S.…”