Ecología trófica del barbo (Barbus sclateri) en cuatro embalses del Sur de España

Abstract

The main objectives of the present study were to examine the feeding habits of Esclaters barbel (Barbus sclateri, Gunther, 1868), in four reservoirs for drinking water supply, located along the course of the river Rivera in Huelva (South of the Iberian Peninsula). The reservoirs are called Aracena, Zufre, The Minilla and The Gergal. The study was carried out in winter, when all four reservoirs were well-mixed. The diet of barbel in Aracena, Zufre and Minilla reservoirs proved to be very similar, as opposed to barbel in El Gergal. This difference in diets across reservoirs was apparently determined by the presence/absence of animal components (i.e. zooplankton or macroinvertebrates), plant remains, and detritus. In spite of these differences in diet composition, the feeding strategy developed by barbel was similar in the four reservoirs. A great variety of items (omnivory, eurifagy) were ingested by barbel in the four reservoirs without any clear preference for any (i.e. generalism). The trophic niche of barbel has a high intraphenotypic component.