@article {4280, title = {Trans-Amazonian natal homing in giant catfish}, journal = {Journal of Applied Ecology}, volume = {53}, year = {2016}, pages = {1511-1520}, abstract = {

1.Knowledge of fish migration is a prerequisite to sustainable fisheries management and preservation, especially in large international river basins. In particular, understanding whether a migratory lifestyle is compulsory or facultative, and whether adults home to their natal geographic area is paramount to fully appraise disruptions of longitudinal connectivity resulting from damming.2.In the Amazon, the large migratory catfishes of the Brachyplatystoma genus are apex predators of considerable interest for fisheries. They are believed to use the entire length of the basin to perform their life cycle, with hypothesized homing behaviours. Here we tested these hypotheses, using the emblematic B. rousseauxii as a model species.3.We sampled adults close to major breeding areas in the Amazon basin (upper Madeira and upper Amazonas) and assessed their lifetime movements by measuring variations in 87Sr/86Sr along transverse sections of their otoliths (ear stones) using laser ablation multicollector mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS).4.We demonstrate that larvae migrate downstream from the Andean piedmont to the lower Amazon, where they grow over a protracted period before migrating upstream as adults. Contrary to prevailing inferences, not all fish spend their nursery stages in the Amazon estuary. By contrast, the passage in the lower or central Amazon seems an obligate part of the life cycle. We further evidence that most adults home to their natal geographic area within the Madeira sub-basin. Such long-distance natal homing is exceptional in purely freshwater fishes.5.Synthesis and applications. By using otolith microchemistry, we were able to demonstrate a seemingly compulsory basin-wide migratory life cycle of large Amazonian catfishes. This makes them the organisms performing the longest migrations (\>8000 km) in fresh waters. This exceptional life history is already jeopardized by two dams recently built in the Madeira River, which block a major migration route and access to a substantial part of their spawning grounds. Major impacts can be anticipated from the current and forthcoming hydroelectric development in the Amazon basin, not only on the populations and fisheries of this apex predator, but also on Amazonian food webs through trophic cascades.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

}, keywords = {87Sr/86Sr ratios, Amazon, anthropogenic activities, Brachyplatystoma spp, freshwater fish, giant catfish, hydroelectric dams, Migration, otoliths}, issn = {1365-2664}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2664.12665}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12665}, author = {Fabrice Duponchelle and Marc Pouilly and Pecheyran, Christophe and Hauser, Marilia and Renno, Jean-Francois and Panfili, Jacques and Darnaude, Audrey M. and Garc{\'\i}a-Vasquez, Aurea and Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando and Carmen Garc{\'\i}a-D{\'a}vila and Doria, Carolina and B{\'e}rail, Sylvain and Donard, Ariane and Sondag, Francis and Santos, Roberto V. and Jesus Nu{\~n}ez-Rodriguez and Point, David and Labonne, Maylis and Baras, Etienne} } @article {4552, title = {Opinion Paper: how vulnerable are Amazonian freshwater fishes to ongoing climate change?}, journal = {Journal of Applied Ichthytology}, volume = {31}, year = {2015}, pages = {4-9}, author = {Thierry Oberdorff and J{\'e}z{\'e}quel, C{\'e}line and Campero, Melina and Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando and Cornu, Jean-Fran{\c c}ois and Dias, Murilo S and Fabrice Duponchelle and Maldonado, Mabel and H. Ortega and Renno, Jean-Francois and Pablo Tedesco} } @article {4399, title = {Using barcoding of larvae for investigating the breeding seasons of pimelodid catfishes from the Mara{\~n}on, Napo and Ucayali rivers in the Peruvian Amazon}, journal = {Journal of Applied Ichthyology}, volume = {31}, year = {2015}, pages = {40{\textendash}51}, issn = {1439-0426}, doi = {10.1111/jai.12987}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jai.12987}, author = {Garc{\'\i}a-D{\'a}vila, C. and Castro-Ruiz, Diana and Renno, Jean-Francois and Chota-Macuyama, Werner and Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando and Sanchez, H. and Angulo, C. and Nolorbe, C. and Alvarado, J. and Estivals, G and Jesus Nu{\~n}ez-Rodriguez and Fabrice Duponchelle} }