Age and growth of the Amazonian migratory catfish Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii in the Madeira River basin before the construction of dams

The goliath catfish Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii has crucial economical and ecological functions in the Amazon basin. Although its life history characteristics have been studied in the Amazon, there is little information in the Madeira River basin, which holds genetically distinct populations and where dams were recently built. Using fish collected in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru, this study provides a validation of growth rings deposition and details the growth patterns of B. rousseauxii in the Madeira before the dams' construction. Age structure and growth parameters were determined from 497 otolith readings. The species exhibits two growth rings per year and sampled fish were between 0 and 16 years old. In the Brazilian portion of the basin, mainly young individuals below 5 years old were found, whereas older fish (> 5 years) were caught only in the Bolivian and Peruvian stretches, indicating that after migrating upstream to reproduce, adults remain in the headwaters of the Madeira River. Comparing with previous publications, B. rousseauxii had a slower growth and 20 cm lower maximum standard length in the Madeira River than in the Amazon River. This study provides a baseline for future evaluation of changes in population dynamics of the species following dams closure.Santo Antonio Energia (SAE)Universidade Federal de Rondonia (UNIR)Instituto de Estudos e Pesquisas Agroambientais e Organizacoes Sustentaveis (IEPAGRO)CAPES [1402376, 047/2012, 6632/14-9]CNPq [204344/2015-8]Foundation of Support to Research of the Amazon [PAREV/FAPEAM 019/2010]FAPESP (Sao Paulo Research Foundation) [2016/07910-0]Univ Fed Rondonia UNIR, Dept Biol, Lab Ictiol & Pesca, BR 364,Km 9,5, BR-76801059 Porto Velho, RO, BrazilPrograma Posgrad Rede Biodiversidade & Biotechnol, BR 364,Km 9,5, BR-76801059 Porto Velho, RO, BrazilUAGRM, IRD, IIAP, LMI,EDIA, Montpellier, FranceINPA, Av Andre Araujo 2936, BR-69067375 Manaus, AM, BrazilUniv Fed Alagoas UFAL, Av Lourival Melo Mota,S-N Tabuleiro Martins, BR-57072900 Maceio, AL, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Carvalho Mendonca 144, BR-11070100 Santos, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Amazonas, Av Gen Rodrigo Octavio Jordao Ramos 3000, BR-69077000 Manaus, AM, BrazilIIAP, Vv Jose Quinones Km 2-5,Apartado Postal 784, Iquitos, PeruIRD, UMR BOREA, MNHN, CNRS 7208,SU,UCN,UA,IRD 207, Ave Agropolis 911, F-34394 Montpellier, FranceUMSS, ULRA, FAUNAGUA, ECOSINTEGRALES SRL, Ave Max Fernandez Final S-N, Cochabamba, BoliviaECOSINTEGRALES SRL, Res Act, Carlos Muller St 211, Cochabamba, Cercado, BoliviaInst Amazon Invest Cient SINCHI, Ave Vasquez Cobo Entre Calles 15 & 16, Bogota, ColombiaUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Carvalho Mendonca 144, BR-11070100 Santos, SP, BrazilCAPES [1402376, 047/2012, 6632/14-9]CNPq [204344/2015-8][PAREV/FAPEAM 019/2010]FAPESP [2016/07910-0]Web of Scienc

Species-level ichthyoplankton dynamics for 97 fishes in two major river basins of the Amazon using quantitative metabarcoding

WOS:000653259400001The Amazon basin holds the world's largest freshwater fish diversity. Information on the intensity and timing of reproductive ecology of Amazonian fish is scant. We use a metabarcoding method by capture using a single probe to quantify species-level ichthyoplankton dynamics. We sampled the Maranon and the Ucayali rivers in Peru monthly for 2 years. We identified 97 species that spawned mainly during the flood start, the flood end or the receding periods, although some species had spawning activity in more than one period. This information was new for 40 of the species in the Amazon basin and 80 species in Peru. Most species ceased spawning for a month during a strong hydrological anomaly in January 2016, demonstrating the rapidity with which they react to environmental modifications during the breeding season. We also document another unreported event in the Amazon basin, the inverse phenology of species belonging to one genus (Triportheus). Overall larval flow in the Maranon was more than twice that of the Ucayali, including for most commercial species (between two and 20 times higher), whereas the Ucayali accounts for similar to 80% of the fisheries landings in the region. Our results are discussed in the light of the main anthropogenic threats to fishes, hydropower dam construction and the Hidrovia Amazonica, and should serve as a pre-impact baseline

Species‐level ichthyoplankton dynamics for 97 fishes in two major river basins of the Amazon using quantitative metabarcoding

The Amazon basin holds the world’s largest freshwater fish diversity. Information on the intensity and timing of reproductive ecology of Amazonian fish are scant. We use a metabarcoding method by capture using a single probe to quantify species‐level ichthyoplankton dynamics. We sampled monthly for two years the Marañón and the Ucayali rivers in Peru. We identified 97 species that spawned mainly during the flood start, the flood end, or the receding periods, although some species had spawning activity in more than one period. This information was new for 40 of the species in the Amazon basin and 80 species in Peru. Most species ceased spawning for a month during a strong hydrological anomaly in January 2016, demonstrating the rapidity with which they react to environmental modifications during the breeding season. We also document another unreported event in the Amazon basin, the inverse phenology of species belonging to a same genus (Triportheus). The overall larval flow in the Marañón was more than twice that of the Ucayali, including for most commercial species (between 2 and 20 times higher), whereas the Ucayali accounts for ~ 80% of the fisheries landings in the region. Our results are discussed in the light of the main anthropogenic threats to fishes, hydropower dam construction and the Hidrovía Amazónica, and should serve as a pre‐impact baseline