Abstract
ABSTRACT The streaked prochilod, Prochilodus lineatus, represents the most important fishery in the La Plata Basin (South America). Our objective was to analyze brackish environment use by the streaked prochilod captured from Paraná and Uruguay rivers. To accomplish this, lapillus otolith sections were analyzed for Sr:Ca with laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA ICP-MS) to infer habitat use of fish. To the interpretation of transects, a threshold that represents the transition between freshwater and brackish environments was calculated using the Sr:Ca ratio of the otolith edge of specimens captured in the first section of the La Plata Estuary (salinity ≥ 0.5 PSU). The percentage of fish using the estuary was higher in the Paraná (37%) than the Uruguay River (5%). Change-point analysis showed that fish entered the estuary between 1 and 3 times throughout life at a wide range of ages (0-15 years). These incursions had no obvious periodicity. This information should be integrated into future management actions, which should also be specific to each area since migration patterns differ between the major rivers of the basin.
Highlights
The La Plata Basin, with 3,170,000 km2 is the fluvialmarine system with larger surface of the Americas, after the Amazon
Streaked prochilod reproductive cycle is correlated with the natural flood pulse regime (Neiff, 1999) with migrations upstream and spawning in open river waters coupled to the flooding periods as a mechanism of dispersion of eggs (Sverlij et al, 1993)
Considering the lack of knowledge about the use of environments with different salinities, our objective was to analyze brackish environment use by the streaked prochilod captured from the La Plata Basin (Paraná and Uruguay rivers)
Summary
The La Plata Basin, with 3,170,000 km is the fluvialmarine system with larger surface of the Americas, after the Amazon. Its most important rivers are the Paraná (4,000 km long), Paraguay (2,600 km long), Uruguay (1,800 km long) and Pilcomayo (1,500 km long) (Fig. 1) (Guerrero et al, 1997). These rivers drain into the Paraná Delta, which terminates in the La Plata Estuary (Guerrero et al, 1997). According to Bonetto et al (1981), Delfino, Baigun (1985) and Espinach Ros et al (1998), the streaked prochilods migrate over 1,000 km to feed and reproduce
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