Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River

Increasing anthropogenic pressures and climate change have significantly altered the hydrological dynamics of freshwater ecosystems, particularly in Latin America. The Paraná River in the La Plata Basin has experienced prolonged droughts, leading to reduced hydrological connectivity and habitat loss...

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Main Authors: Espinola, Luis Alberto, Simōes, Nadson Ressyé, Rabuffetti, Ana Pía, Contreras, Félix Ignacio, Saucedo, Griselda Isabel, Abrial, Elie, Garelo, Nicolás, Stachiotti, Leonardo, Baigun, Claudio Rafael M., Blettler, Martín César María, Dos Santos, Luciano Neves
Format: Artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23086
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eco.70062
https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.70062
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author Espinola, Luis Alberto
Simōes, Nadson Ressyé
Rabuffetti, Ana Pía
Contreras, Félix Ignacio
Saucedo, Griselda Isabel
Abrial, Elie
Garelo, Nicolás
Stachiotti, Leonardo
Baigun, Claudio Rafael M.
Blettler, Martín César María
Dos Santos, Luciano Neves
author_browse Abrial, Elie
Baigun, Claudio Rafael M.
Blettler, Martín César María
Contreras, Félix Ignacio
Dos Santos, Luciano Neves
Espinola, Luis Alberto
Garelo, Nicolás
Rabuffetti, Ana Pía
Saucedo, Griselda Isabel
Simōes, Nadson Ressyé
Stachiotti, Leonardo
author_facet Espinola, Luis Alberto
Simōes, Nadson Ressyé
Rabuffetti, Ana Pía
Contreras, Félix Ignacio
Saucedo, Griselda Isabel
Abrial, Elie
Garelo, Nicolás
Stachiotti, Leonardo
Baigun, Claudio Rafael M.
Blettler, Martín César María
Dos Santos, Luciano Neves
author_sort Espinola, Luis Alberto
collection INTA Digital
description Increasing anthropogenic pressures and climate change have significantly altered the hydrological dynamics of freshwater ecosystems, particularly in Latin America. The Paraná River in the La Plata Basin has experienced prolonged droughts, leading to reduced hydrological connectivity and habitat loss, which have severely impacted fish assemblages and reproduction of several species. This study analysed changes in fish assemblage structure during a prolonged hydrological drought (2021–2022) compared with regular hydrological pulse periods (2010 and 2016) in the middle Paraná River floodplain. The results show that prolonged droughts have disrupted typical temporal dynamics, restructured the fish assemblage and particularly affected the abundance and dominance of large migratory species, which account for many key ecosystem services and are the major target of local fisheries, with only sedentary and short-distance migratory species remaining dominant. Because climate models predict more frequent and severe droughts in the future, our study shows that prolonged hydrological droughts are transforming river-floodplain systems by reducing the frequency and intensity of pulse and flow pulses. This decline in hydrological variability leads to a reduced availability and diversity of habitats for fish nurseries, negatively impacting reproductive success and even affecting migratory signals essential for reproduction. As a result, species abundance and community composition are being significantly reshaped. An ecohydrological approach is recommended for sustainable water management, integrating adaptive strategies to mitigate the impacts of abnormal hydrological events, monitor ichthyofauna and maintain ecosystem services such as fisheries.
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spelling INTA230862025-07-18T15:05:17Z Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River Espinola, Luis Alberto Simōes, Nadson Ressyé Rabuffetti, Ana Pía Contreras, Félix Ignacio Saucedo, Griselda Isabel Abrial, Elie Garelo, Nicolás Stachiotti, Leonardo Baigun, Claudio Rafael M. Blettler, Martín César María Dos Santos, Luciano Neves Sequía Ecohidrología Cambio Climático Drought Ecohydrology Climate Change Fish Pescado Increasing anthropogenic pressures and climate change have significantly altered the hydrological dynamics of freshwater ecosystems, particularly in Latin America. The Paraná River in the La Plata Basin has experienced prolonged droughts, leading to reduced hydrological connectivity and habitat loss, which have severely impacted fish assemblages and reproduction of several species. This study analysed changes in fish assemblage structure during a prolonged hydrological drought (2021–2022) compared with regular hydrological pulse periods (2010 and 2016) in the middle Paraná River floodplain. The results show that prolonged droughts have disrupted typical temporal dynamics, restructured the fish assemblage and particularly affected the abundance and dominance of large migratory species, which account for many key ecosystem services and are the major target of local fisheries, with only sedentary and short-distance migratory species remaining dominant. Because climate models predict more frequent and severe droughts in the future, our study shows that prolonged hydrological droughts are transforming river-floodplain systems by reducing the frequency and intensity of pulse and flow pulses. This decline in hydrological variability leads to a reduced availability and diversity of habitats for fish nurseries, negatively impacting reproductive success and even affecting migratory signals essential for reproduction. As a result, species abundance and community composition are being significantly reshaped. An ecohydrological approach is recommended for sustainable water management, integrating adaptive strategies to mitigate the impacts of abnormal hydrological events, monitor ichthyofauna and maintain ecosystem services such as fisheries. EEA Corrientes Fil: Espínola, Luis Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina Fil: Simōes, Nadson Ressyé. Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia (UFSB). Centro de Formação em Ciências Agroflorestais; Brasil Fil: Rabuffetti, Ana Pía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina Fil: Contreras, Félix Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina Fil: Saucedo, Griselda Isabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Corrientes; Argentina Fil: Abrial, Elie. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina Fil: Garelo, Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina Fil: Stachiotti, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología (INALI). Laboratorio de Hidrogeología; Argentina Fil: Baigun, Claudio Rafael M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental. Laboratorio de Ecología Pesquera Aplicada; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental. Laboratorio de Ecología Pesquera Aplicada; Argentina Fil: Blettler, Martín César María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Bioingeniería y Bioinformática; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Bioingeniería y Bioinformática; Argentina Fil: Dos Santos, Luciano Neves. Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Laboratorio de Ictiología Teórica e Aplicada (LICTA); Brasil 2025-07-18T14:47:21Z 2025-07-18T14:47:21Z 2025-08 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23086 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eco.70062 1936-0584 1936-0592 https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.70062 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Wiley Ecohydrology 18 (5) : e70062. (July‐August 2025)
spellingShingle Sequía
Ecohidrología
Cambio Climático
Drought
Ecohydrology
Climate Change
Fish
Pescado
Espinola, Luis Alberto
Simōes, Nadson Ressyé
Rabuffetti, Ana Pía
Contreras, Félix Ignacio
Saucedo, Griselda Isabel
Abrial, Elie
Garelo, Nicolás
Stachiotti, Leonardo
Baigun, Claudio Rafael M.
Blettler, Martín César María
Dos Santos, Luciano Neves
Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River
title Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River
title_full Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River
title_fullStr Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River
title_short Impact of Extreme Droughts on Fish Assemblages in a Large South American Floodplain River
title_sort impact of extreme droughts on fish assemblages in a large south american floodplain river
topic Sequía
Ecohidrología
Cambio Climático
Drought
Ecohydrology
Climate Change
Fish
Pescado
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23086
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eco.70062
https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.70062
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