Dams effects on potamodromous Prochilodus magdalenae: evidence from endocrine response

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1 Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
2 Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
3 Northern Andes and South Central America Conservation Program, The Nature Conservancy, Bogotá, DC, Colombia
4 ISAGEN S.A E.S.P, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.3490v1
Published
Accepted
Subject Areas
Animal Behavior, Ecology, Freshwater Biology, Environmental Impacts
Keywords
Dams, Freshwater fish, Gonadotropic cells, Magdalena River Basin, Neotropical fish reproduction., Potamodromous
Copyright
© 2017 De Fex-Wolf et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
De Fex-Wolf D, López-Casas S, Jiménez-Segura LF, Pérez-Gallego CM. 2017. Dams effects on potamodromous Prochilodus magdalenae: evidence from endocrine response. PeerJ Preprints 5:e3490v1

Abstract

Background. Prochilodus magdalenae is a neotropical fish that synchronizes reproduction with flood river pulses.

Methods. We used an endocrine method to test the influence of hydropeaking on hormone production related with reproduction. We analyzed P. magdalenae reproduction in individuals from two sectors of a Neotropical river basin: one with natural flow and the other with a regulated hydrological regime.

Results. In the section of the basin with natural flow we found that the production of hormones related with fish reproduction (FSH and LH) was correlated with the gonadosomatic index, while in fish experiencing hydropeaking due to hydroelectric operation no such correlation was detected.

Discussion. We conclude that potamodromous fish reproductive hormone production is sensitive to changes in water level/discharge, consequently, fish exposed to hydropeaking receive ambiguous stimuli that affect hormone production, reproduction synchronization with environmental cues, and ripening, which are essential for reproductive success.

Author Comment

This is a submission to PeerJ for review.