Estrutura trófica de peixes do Lago Grande, Manacapuru, AM com base nos isótopos estáveis de C e N

Abstract

The trophic ecology provides important information on diet composition and diet of fish. Isotopic analysis for its accuracy has been widely used as an efficient tool in the investigation of trophic webs in aquatic ecosystems, measuring continuously the trophic position of fish. This paper proposes to investigate the trophic structure of fish in the lake Grande based on the natural variation of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. Fish and food sources were collected during periods of drought and flood, the Grande Lake, Manacapuru, AM. We determined the isotopic composition of C and N of the dorsal muscle of fish, invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and sediment processed in the laboratory. The isotopic composition ranked fish in trophic levels, for which calculated the trophic position, considering a body baseline Oligochaeta. The isotopic composition of C and N of the fish reflected the dietary sources collected in the lake. The values δ15N and δ13C of the sources ranged from - 11.27 to - 38.00 ‰ and 0.70 to 9.49 ‰ respectively, lying among the highest frequencies - 30 to - 25 ‰ and 4 to 8 ‰ respectively. Among the sources only macrophytes C3 and decapods (prawns) showed different values between the periods. The valor δ13C and δ15N of fish did not differ between the periods of flood and drought, with a range of - 36.8 to - 27.9 ‰ and 4.2 to 11.6 ‰, respectively, with the highest frequencies between - 32 to - 30 ‰ and 8 to 10 ‰ respectively. O δ15N of fish allowed the trophic structure of the ichthyofauna in three levels above primary producers and revealed that the food chain is relatively short. The omnivory was observed for half of the species that comprise the 3rd trophic level, influencing the size of the food chain of this lake. The data sets δ15N and δ13C of fish and their food sources made it possible to also show the importance of C3 plants to fish biomass.