Fish as potential dispersal agents for floodplain plants: first evidence in North America

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 1437-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H Chick ◽  
Robert J Cosgriff ◽  
Lori S Gittinger
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Channel Catfish ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
River Floodplain ◽  
American River ◽  
Flood Pulses ◽  
Germination Success ◽  
Seasonal Flood

In river–floodplain ecosystems with seasonal flood pulses, many species display adaptations to take advantage of resources in the aquatic–terrestrial transition zone. Frugivory and seed dispersal by fishes is a clear example of such adaptations, known primarily from South American river–floodplain systems. Here, we document consumption of red mulberry (Morus rubra) and swamp privet (Forestiera acuminata) fruit by channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) in the floodplain of the Mississippi River, U.S.A., and demonstrate that red mulberry and swamp privet seeds will germinate after being consumed by channel catfish. In a common-garden experiment, consumption of fruits and seeds by channel catfish improved germination success of these riparian plants relative to a treatment simulating fruit dropped during a flood without being consumed by fish. This is the first study to provide evidence of frugivory and viability of seeds ingested by fish in a North American river–floodplain ecosystem. Frugivory and seed dispersal by fishes may be more widespread than previously thought.

Conservation, Ecology, and Management of Catfish: The Second International Symposium

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Channel Catfish ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Main Channel ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Middle Mississippi River ◽  
Catch Rates

<em>Abstract</em>.—Channel catfish <em>Ictalurus punctatus</em> are a major recreational and commercially important large river species. However, anthropogenic activities have heavily degraded the majority of riverine catfish habitats. To maintain catfish populations, an understanding of channel catfish early-life habitat use is necessary. We quantified habitat use of juvenile channel catfish in the middle Mississippi River from 2004 through 2007 by trawling in main channel, channel border, island, and artificial structure habitat (i.e., river training structures or wing dikes) features throughout the sampling reach (<EM>N</EM> = 878 trawls; <EM>N</EM> = 538 juvenile channel catfish). Channel catfish occurred most frequently in island and off-channel habitats. Few juvenile channel catfish were trawled in the main channel. All macrohabitat features were used by a broad size range of juvenile channel catfish, with the exception of the main channel, where only larger juvenile channel catfish were captured. Within each habitat, juvenile channel catfish catch rates were highest in sand substrate, low velocity, and shallow depths. Channel catfish in the middle Mississippi River use a variety of habitats during early life. Maintaining existing habitats, creating habitats with these attributes, and coupling this with proper management will foster sustainability of the channel catfish population at current commercial and recreational fishing levels in the middle Mississippi River.

Fishery Resources, Environment, and Conservation in the Mississippi and Yangtze (Changjiang) River Basins

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Ohio River ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
River Floodplain ◽  
Vegetation Communities ◽  
Deltaic Plain ◽  
Sediment Loads ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
Flood Pulses

<em>Abstract</em>.—The lower Mississippi River encompasses the 1,535-km reach extending from the confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Waters of the lower Mississippi River have historically inundated vast areas of adjacent floodplain during spring flood pulses. Additionally, processes of land building within the river’s deltaic plain supported vast forests and diverse freshwater and salt-marsh habitats. Flood pulses provided a mechanism of lateral exchange of energy and nutrients between the aquatic and terrestrial habitats, while sediment loads continually rebuilt and supported the deltaic plain. As human populations and agriculture expanded throughout the lower Mississippi Valley, construction of flood-protection levee systems and commercial navigational structures severely decreased the connectivity between the lower Mississippi River and its floodplain. The current lower Mississippi River floodplain is more than 90% reduced in area compared to historical conditions. Fluvial dynamics, which are the driving forces that stimulate floodplain function and create diverse habitats, appear to have been altered throughout approximately 80% of the river. As a result, the hydrograph, thermograph, sedimentation patterns, nutrient dynamics, and vegetation communities within the lower Mississippi River floodplain have experienced major changes through time, with many large alterations occurring during the past century. In addition, because most of the sediment load of the lower Mississippi River now enters the northern Gulf of Mexico, land building and associated processes are much reduced in the river’s deltaic plain. This process has allowed intrusion of saltwater into coastal habitats, which has heavily impacted vegetation communities. This paper reviews the consequences of river modification to lower Mississippi River floodplain, current efforts towards restoring the floodplain and deltaic plain, and proposes future strategies towards restoring portions of the historical floodplain.

Preparation and characterization of collagen polypeptide chelated calcium from fish bone powder of channel catfish(Ictalurus punctatus)

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 314
Author(s):  
Jian-feng LU ◽  
Chang-wei MENG ◽  
Jin LI ◽  
Zi-hui GONG ◽  
Lin LIN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Channel Catfish ◽  
Fish Bone ◽  
Bone Powder

Bioeconomic Analysis of Flavobacterium columnare Vaccine Pond Trials with Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian K. Malecki ◽  
Luke A. Roy ◽  
Cova R. Arias ◽  
Miles D. Lange ◽  
Craig A. Shoemaker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Channel Catfish ◽  
Flavobacterium Columnare

Novel polymorphisms in Stearoyl‐CoA Desaturase (SCD) and Fatty Acid Desaturase 2 (FADS2) in channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus, Rafinesque, 1818 )

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliva Mendoza‐Pacheco ◽  
Gaspar Manuel Parra‐Bracamonte ◽  
Xochitl Fabiola De la Rosa‐Reyna ◽  
Ana María Sifuentes‐Rincón ◽  
Isidro Otoniel Montelongo‐Alfaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Channel Catfish ◽  
Fatty Acid Desaturase ◽  
Stearoyl Coa Desaturase ◽  
Fatty Acid Desaturase 2
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