Lateral migration of fish between an oxbow lake and an Amazonian headwater river

Darwin Osorio, John Terborgh, Adriana Alvarez, Hernán Ortega, Roberto Quispe, Vanessa Chipollini, Lisa C. Davenport

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report on lateral movements of fish between an Amazonian headwater river (Manu River in Manu National Park, Perú) and a 24-ha oxbow lake (Cocha Cashu) in the adjacent floodplain. During wet season flood pulses, or 'crecientes,' fish can enter and exit the lake through a connecting channel that is normally dry. To investigate fish movements, we operated a bi-directional funnel trap in the connecting channel during high water interludes. We captured 4090 fish of 60 species during the 2005 and 2006 rainy seasons and sub-sampled the adults for gonadal state and stomach contents. We found that most exiting fish were gravid and that most entering fish had recently spawned, suggesting that fish were leaving the lake to spawn in the river or elsewhere. Entering fish had full stomachs more often than exiting fish and entering and exiting individuals of most species were of similar size.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)619-627
Number of pages9
JournalEcology of Freshwater Fish
Volume20
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2011

Keywords

  • Amazon
  • Cocha Cashu
  • Fish
  • Lateral migration
  • Manu River
  • Oxbow lake

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