Food resources and cyprinid diet in permanent and temporary Mediterranean rivers with natural and regulated flow |
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| Authors: | Carlos M Alexandre Sabrina Sales Maria Teresa Ferreira Pedro R Almeida |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal;2. Departamento de Biologia, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de évora, évora, Portugal;3. Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal |
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| Abstract: | This study addresses the differences in food availability, diet and feeding activity of the Iberian barbel, between permanent and temporary nonregulated rivers, and the effect of flow regulation on feeding parameters. A total of 267 adult barbels were seasonally collected in four nonregulated and regulated rivers from permanent and temporary basins, and their gut content was analysed. Locally available food sources were evaluated across sites and seasons. Barbels from the permanent nonregulated river exhibit a more variable and diversified diet in which invertebrates assumed a large importance, especially during high flows. Barbels from the temporary nonregulated river presented a more uniform diet composed of plant material and detritus, particularly in drought seasons. Flow regulation affected different flow components in both systems, but the effects on food resources and barbels' diet were similar, resulting in an intra‐annual stabilisation of resource availability and fish diet, with a higher consumption of plants and detritus. Changes in fish diet and feeding activity in both nonregulated and regulated rivers were strongly associated with the seasonal variability of streamflow components, particularly between low‐ and high‐flow periods, and with the reduction in flow variability in the case of dam regulation. Results from this study can be used to improve guidelines for flow requirement implementation. |
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| Keywords: | fish diet streamflow river regulation Mediterranean rivers Iberian barbel |
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