Seasonal and reproductive migrations in the Creole perch Percichthys trucha (Actinopterygii: Percichthydae) promote both intra-lake and inter-lake habitat connectivity

FERNANDEZ MA; RECHENCQ M; LALLEMENT M. E; ZATTARA E; JUAREZ S.M; SOSNOVSKY A; LIPPOLT G.E; ALONSO M.F; VIGLIANO P.H; MACCHI P.J

Iranian Journal of Ichthyology

Iranian Society of Ichthyology

Lugar: Irán; Año: 2019 vol. 6 p. 226 - 239

The Creole perch Percichthys trucha is the largest top predator in North Patagonia?s freshwater communities, yet little is known about its biology and how it relates to other perch occupying similar niches elsewhere on the world. Knowing the natural history of this species, including how it uses its habitat for feeding and spawning is fundamental to guide conservation and management policies. Here, we describe the biology of P. trucha inhabiting a deep oligotrophic lake in North Patagonia, focusing on a) the differential use of littoral depth strata by age, b) age at maturity and spawning season, c) occurrence of reproductive migrations to vegetated shorelines. We sampled individuals from 12 locations within the lake over three years and found that P. trucha makes differential use of the littoral zone through the year and through its life stages. From hatching and through their first year, juveniles prefer shallow vegetated littoral strata; 50% of the individuals have reached maturity at 1-year-old, and all are reproductive by 3-year-old. Adults use all depth strata of the littoral zone but migrate to specific shallow vegetated areas to spawn. Adequate spawning areas were relatively rare, suggesting this species migrates to other lakes for reproduction. Overall, our results show that the reproductive behavior of P. trucha improves connectivity between different zones of the lake and between the lake and other lakes connected to it by tributary streams