Search

Unravelling the effect of climate variability on species biology has been one of the main goals of ecological studies. Environmental factors such as river discharge and temperature have being proposed as triggers of reproductive cycle in fish. In temperate climates, fish reproduction is affected mainly by temperature, while is influenced by flood pulses in large tropical rivers. We evaluated the influence of temperature and river discharge as triggers of Iheringichthys labrosus' reproduction. We studied the following reproductive variables: gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI) and condition factor (K). Females of I. labrosus were examined in a time series of ten years along three sites located in Lower Uruguay River at the beginning (last week of November‐first week of December, spring) and by the end of the reproductive period (middle‐end of April, autumn). Generalised linear models detected a positive effect of mean winter temperature and site on the spring mature female GSI. Site was significant in addition to the interaction between temperature and site. Moreover, the effect of winter temperature was stronger than water discharge in triggering reproductive timing of I. labrosus, contrary to the model proposed for other species in tropical systems. Additionally, a literature review suggested a latitudinal gradient on reproduction, occurring earlier and prolonged with decreasing latitude (and increasing temperature). In this study, we stated the effect of temperature on the life history in a Neotropical fish using a multifaceted approach, particularly important in the current context of global climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trophic structure of fish assemblages often varies seasonally, following the changes in food availability and supposedly water temperature. To unveil potential drivers of trophic shifts, we studied changes in fish trophic structure at both whole-assemblage and species levels at contrasting food availability and water temperatures in a subtropical stream. We analysed the diet of the most abundant omnivorous species ( Bryconamericus iheringii) monthly along the year, searching for relationships with environmental variables changing seasonally (i.e. temperature and water level) and with fish reproductive stage. We ran a single-species food choice field experiment with fixed animal and vegetal food availability in contrasting seasons to test food availability as driver of diet shifts. At the assemblage level, we found a higher consumption of vegetal during summer, reflecting the increased proportion of vegetal in the diet of omnivores, which dominated the assemblage. At the species level, the enhanced vegetal consumption was related to increases in temperature and reduction in water level. Moreover, fish selected for vegetal during summer and for animal food in winter under experimental conditions. Our findings support the role of temperature driving food web dynamics by increasing fish herbivory towards warmer scenarios, with potential strong implications for whole-assemblage trophic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen lost from agriculture has altered the geochemistry of the biosphere, with pronounced impacts on aquatic ecosystems. We aim to elucidate the patterns and driving factors behind the N fluxes in lowland stream ecosystems differing about land-use and climatic-hydrological conditions. The climate-hydrology areas represented humid cold temperate/stable discharge conditions, and humid subtropical climate/flashy conditions. Three complementary monitoring sampling characteristics were selected, including a total of 43 streams under contrasting farming intensities. Farming intensity determined total dissolved N (TDN), nitrate concentrations, and total N concentration and loss to streams, despite differences in soil and climatic-hydrological conditions between and within regions. However, ammonium (NH4+) and dissolved organic N concentrations did not show significant responses to the farming intensity or climatic/hydrological conditions. A high dissolved inorganic N to TDN ratio was associated with the temperate climate and high base flow conditions, but not with farming intensity. In the absence of a significant increase in farming N use efficiency (or the introduction of other palliative measures), the expected farming intensification would result in a stronger increase in NO3−, TDN, and TN concentrations as well as in rising flow-weighted concentrations and loss in temperate and subtropical streams, which will further exacerbate eutrophication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]