Seasonal variation in basal resources supporting fish biomass in longitudinal zones of the Usumacinta River Basin, southern Mexico
Miriam Soria-Barreto A F , Carmen G. Montaña B G , Kirk O. Winemiller C , María M. Castillo D and Rocío Rodiles-Hernández
E H
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A CONACYT–El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur s/n, Barrio María Auxiliadora, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas 29290, Mexico.
B Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, 1900 Avenue I, Huntsville, TX 77341, USA.
C Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Boulevard, College Station, TX 77843-2258, USA.
D Departamento de Ciencias de la Sustentabilidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera a Reforma Kilómetro 15.5, Ranchería Guineo 2a Sección Villahermosa 86280, Tabasco, Mexico.
E Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur s/n, Barrio María Auxiliadora, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas 29290, Mexico.
F Present address: Centro de Investigación de Ciencias Ambientales, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Calle Laguna de Términos s/n, Col. Renovación 2a Sección, Ciudad del Carmen 24155, Campeche, Mexico.
G Present address: Department of Biology, Stephen F. Austin State University, PO Box 13003, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75964, USA.
H Corresponding author. Email: rrodiles@gmail.com
Marine and Freshwater Research - https://doi.org/10.1071/MF19341
Submitted: 26 October 2019 Accepted: 17 June 2020 Published online: 20 August 2020
Abstract
Aquatic food webs in tropical rivers are affected by spatial and temporal variations in basal resources and the composition of consumer assemblages. We used stable isotope analysis to estimate seasonal variation in basal resources supporting fish biomass in zones along the longitudinal gradient of the Usumacinta River Basin, the largest of Mesoamerica. A Bayesian isotope mixing model was used to estimate the proportional contributions of six basal resources: seston, filamentous algae, periphyton, aquatic macrophytes, riparian C3 plants and C4 plants. Models estimated that fish in the upper zone were largely supported by periphyton and riparian C3 plants during the dry season and by filamentous algae during the wet season. In the dry season, fishes in the middle and lower zones assimilated material derived from seston and, to a lesser extent, periphyton, whereas aquatic macrophytes were more important during the wet season. Chlorophyll-a measurements from the middle and lower zones suggested that seston contained large fractions of suspended algae. These patterns are consistent with the river wave concept, which predicts flow-associated changes in contributions of basal resources to the aquatic food web. The findings of this study reinforce the major role of flow regime in the ecological dynamics of rivers and how these dynamics vary depending on location and local conditions within fluvial networks.
Keywords: Mesoamerica, MixSIAR model, stable isotope analysis, tropical river.
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