Abstract

LIZARRO, Dennis; PINTO-VIVEROS, Marco Aurelio  and  MORENO-AULO, Federico. Fish community of the urban flooding lagoon Las Palquitas, Trinidad, Beni (Bolivia). Ecología en Bolivia [online]. 2020, vol.55, n.3, pp.210-225. ISSN 1605-2528.

The ichthyofauna of the urban flooding lagoon Las Palquitas, in the city of Trinidad, was studied with the aim of exploring general patterns of temporal variation of fish community that will be useful as basis for future research and to understand the population dynamics of the fish species inhabiting these type of Amazonian lakes environments. Samples were taken monthly, during day and night, using gilí nets in a hydrological cycle between July 2015 and May 2016. Seventy-eight species belonging to five orders and 19 families were captured. The taxonomic composition was dominated by Characiformes (Characidae and Serrasalmidae) and Siluriformes (Loricariidae) with records of 30-32% in both seasons and Siluriformes (Loricariidae) with 3%. Temporal variations show that during the period in which the lagoon connects with other bodies of water through flooding, community composition undergoes changes in the species richness - with 62 species during the rains and 55 in the dry season - as well as in the relative composition of the taxonomic groups. These temporary changes are remarkable by extensive and prolonged flooding, which is probably due to the fact that this lagoon is connected to a larger body of water that receives its waters from the Mamore River, facilitating fish dispersion. This study is a contribution to the knowledge of the fish fauna of the floodplain lakes in the Llanos de Moxos, complementing information gaps of fish species in the different ecosystems present in the Bolivian Amazon.

Keywords : Amazon; Assemblage; Flood pulse; Hydrological cycle; Moxos floodplain.