This study aimed to compare the trophic ecology of native and non-native fish species in the Doce River basin, which has been subjected to various anthropogenic impacts, including Brazil's largest environmental disaster: the rupture of the Fundão iron ore tailings dam. Using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, we evaluated the isotopic niche and trophic position occupied by fish species sampled at eight sampling points along the Doce River. Currently, non-native species exhibit a broader isotopic niche than the native assemblage, occupying all trophic levels. The historically most impacted points in the basin, which also received the tailings from the dam breach, presented a higher percentage of non-native species, with a greater isotopic overlap with native species. Non-native species seems to consume released resources in most disturbed regions, represented by more enriched δ13C signatures. However, locally, their range of δ13C compared to native species was not different among less and more disturbed sites. Our results indicate how human disturbances create favorable scenarios for non-native fish, and underscore the urgent need for strategies to control non-native species populations, in the context of current programs for watershed restoration and conservation of its native fish species.
Export Date: 2 January 2025
CODEN: HYDRB
Correspondence Address: Pompeu, P.S.; Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, Caixa Postal 3037, MG, Campus Universitário, Brazil; email: pompeu@ufla.br
Funding details: Fundação Renova, 005836/2019
Funding details: Fundação Renova
Funding details: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq, 302328/2022-0
Funding details: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq
Funding text 1: We thank the Funda\u00E7\u00E3o Renova for the project financial support (Grant number 005836/2019) and CNPq for the PSP research productivity grant (Grant number 302328/2022-0). Thanks also to the Laboratory of Fish Ecology (UFLA) and Laboratory of molecular systematics Beagle (UFV) who assisted in the processing of samples and infrastructure, and to the Centre for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA) for their support and partnership in the isotopic analysis.
Funding text 2: This study was funded by Funda\u00E7\u00E3o Renova (Grant number 005836/2019). Paulo S. Pompeu was awarded a research productivity grant (Grant number 302328/2022-0) by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00EDfico e Tecnol\u00F3gico (CNPq).