Feeding and social behavior of the piabanha, Brycon devillei (Castelnau, 1855) (Characidae: Bryconinae) in the wild, with a note on following behavior

Abstract

Knowledge concerning the behavior of wild freshwater fishes in Brazil is restricted to a few studies, despite such studies being able to answer fundamental questions about conservation. Species of Brycon are amongst the most threatened in the Neotropics, particularly in southeast Brazil, due to anthropogenic activities in this region. This study investigated the feeding and social behaviors of the endangered fish, Brycon devillei in the Preto River, Jequitinhonha basin, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Behavioral data were collected by snorkeling with four spatially separated groups (habituated), and direct observations of shoals were made using an underwater video camera (a total of 448 hours of observations). This species showed diverse tactics to obtain food. However, the species proved to be predominately a specialist surface-picker, which adopted alternative tactics to find food at certain times of the year, most notably when food items on the water surface became low. Feeding frequency was shown to be negatively correlated to agonistic behavior between conspecifics. Feeding associations were also recorded between the anostomid Leporinus garmani, acting as a nuclear species, and B. devillei, as follower species. The data presented here showed the importance of conserving the riparian environment to protect B. devillei populations. Furthermore, the present study included rare observations of nuclear-follower feeding association among freshwater fishes, especially between medium-sized characiforms, being the first observations of such kind in a Cerrado stream.