Feeding ecology and coexistence dynamics in a community of fishes in a temperate temporary water body

Temporary water bodies are temporally variable ecosystems supported primarily by rainwater. The biota supported by such water bodies present a range of capacities to remain in this environment for all or part of their life cycles. During floods, temporary pools can connect with permanent streams, pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology of freshwater fish 2022-01, Vol.31 (1), p.1-16
Main Authors: M. Tessy, Muñoz‐Campos, Sharon, Valdez‐Carbajal, Omar, Domínguez‐Castanedo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibians
annual killifish
Aquatic reptiles
Biological competition
Biota
Coexistence
Cohorts
Competition
Dynamics
Ecology
Feeding
feeding competition
Fish
Food chains
Food webs
Freshwater fishes
Guilds
gut content
Insectivores
Larvae
Life cycles
Native organisms
Niche breadth
niche overlap
Niches
Rain
Rain water
Temporary ponds
Temporary water bodies
Water bodies
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Summary:Temporary water bodies are temporally variable ecosystems supported primarily by rainwater. The biota supported by such water bodies present a range of capacities to remain in this environment for all or part of their life cycles. During floods, temporary pools can connect with permanent streams, promoting changes in trophic networks in the aquatic food webs. The aim of this research was to analyse the feeding ecology of a fish community in a temporary pool near of Tlacotalpan, in the Mexican southeast, in order to understand the dynamics of the feeding habits. First, we identified feeding habits that can be interpreted as guilds of the fishes in the temporary pool: the annual killifish Millerichthys robustus (the only autochthonous species) is planktophagous; Cynodonichthys tenuis and Astyanax aeneus are insectivores; Dormitator maculatus and larvae of amphibians (Lithobates sp.) are mainly detritivorous; and Poecilia mexicana is planktophagous and insectivorous. We then estimated the effect of coexistence on niche breadth and overlap. The niches of M. robustus and P. mexicana evidenced overlap, but the breadth was adjusted inversely, suggesting feeding specialisation in M. robustus in response to competition. We documented the existence of two cohorts of M. robustus; the niche breadth of the first and second cohorts suggesting different strategies probably related to competition under variable conditions. The niche of C. tenuis and A. aeneus, and D. maculatus and tadpoles overlapped, following a pattern of feeding generalisation in response to competition.
ISSN:0906-6691
1600-0633
DOI:10.1111/eff.12604