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Effect of flood pulses on the trophic ecology of four piscivorous fishes from the eastern Amazon
Author(s) -
Barbosa Thiago A. P.,
Rosa Daniela C. O.,
Soares Bruno E.,
Costa Christophe H. A.,
Esposito Maria C.,
Montag Luciano F. A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.13669
Subject(s) - trophic level , biology , food web , pike , ecology , amazon rainforest , piscivore , floodplain , predation , fishery , predator , fish <actinopterygii>
This study investigated the effect of hydrological periods on the feeding activity and trophic interactions of four piscivorous fishes from the middle Xingu River, Brazil: pike‐characid Boulengerella cuvieri , dogtooth characin Hydrolycus armatus , dogtooth characin Hydrolycus tatauaia and South American silver croaker Plagioscion squamosissimus . Repletion Index ( I R %), Alimentary Index ( I A i %) and food web properties were calculated for each species. A total of 825 specimens were collected. The I R showed changes in feeding intensity of B. cuvieri , H. armatus and H. tatauaia among hydrological periods. Flood pulse showed no influence on composition and importance of food items consumed. Trophic connections showed that connectivity ranged from 0.025 to 0.038. The highest number of trophic connections (75) occurred in the high‐water period, when 51 food items were recorded and the lowest number of trophic connections (43) occurred in receding water, with 31 food items. In all food webs, over 45% of food items were consumed by only one species (ultra‐peripheral items), which is common in piscivorous fishes.