Abstract
Floodplains are a key habitat in the life cycle of many
riverine fish species for spawning, nursery, foraging
or a combination of these. While in Europe and
North-America, about 90% of the floodplains are already
considered functionally extinct, the vast floodplains of
the lower Volga are among the few in Europe that are still
ecologically functional. Therefore it serves as an excellent
instrument to unravel different strategies of floodplain
resources utilization by adult fish of different life-history
strategies under different spring flow regimes. We used
commercial fisheries data from the main river channel
and floodplain lakes as well as our own sampling data
from migration surveys at the entrance to, and within,
Abstracts
149
the floodplain. Our surveys were performed during the
flooding periods of 2006 (extreme low flooding) and
2007 (average flooding). We distinguished three species
groups of floodplain habitat use in the lower Volga: 1)
resident species (depending on permanent floodplain
water bodies, mostly associated with opportunistic
life history strategies); 2) migratory species (moving
into the floodplain during flooding episodes , mostly
associated with moderate periodic life histories); and 3)
non-dependent species (mainly species of the mainstream
of the river with no significant role of floodplains, mostly
associated with periodic life histories). We also observed
that flooding conditions strongly affected spring spawning
behaviour of the migratory species. In contrast to high/
long flood during extremely low/short flood peaks fish
did not migrate deep into the floodplain but spawned
closer to the entrances not utilizing available spawning/
nursery habitats.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2009 |
Event | The International Conference of Science and Information Technologies Sustainable Management of Aquatic Ecosystems. Conceptíon - Duration: 12 Jan 2009 → 16 Jan 2009 |
Conference
Conference | The International Conference of Science and Information Technologies Sustainable Management of Aquatic Ecosystems. Conceptíon |
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Period | 12/01/09 → 16/01/09 |