Javier Lobón-Cerviá

Spanish National Research Council | CSIC · Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva - MNCN

Based on published and unpublished long-term data sets covering a wide range in size, growth, density, and production rates reported for resident, sea-migratory, and lake-migratory stream-dwelling salmonid populations, we examined, revisited, and summarized cohort and annual production rates and turnover ratios at a global scale, including most of...

Finding empirical support for the “paradigm of density-dependence” has been a major focus of ecological and fishery research. Quantifying relationships between the abundance of spawners and the subsequent recruitment is essential for testing the key prediction of density-dependent population regulation: that the number of recruits is mechanisticall...

Fish ecomorphological analyses often deal with several traits simultaneously, making it challenging to interpret general patterns, and have not addressed the longitudinal component of streams in morphology‐habitat relationships. We identified ecomorphotypes of fishes and correlated their morphological variation with food, structural/hydrological va...

The role of methylation in adaptive, developmental and speciation processes has attracted considerable interest, but interpretation of results is complicated by diffuse boundaries between genetic and non‐genetic variation. We studied whole genome genetic and methylation variation in the European eel, distributed from subarctic to subtropical enviro...

The role of methylation in adaptive, developmental and speciation processes has attracted considerable interest, but interpretation of results is complicated by diffuse boundaries between genetic and non-genetic variation. We studied whole genome genetic and methylation variation in the European eel, distributed from subarctic to subtropical enviro...

I explored the hypothesis that recruitment may stabilize the numerical dynamics of stream-dwelling salmonids by triggering density-dependent feedback loops through the operation of recruitment dependence on individual growth, mortality, life span and maximum size and their effects on fecundity. I examined 98 cohorts of two Salmo trutta populations...

Parental care is a major feature in the evolution of life-history traits and appears highly associated with the trade-off between egg number and size. It has been a controversial issue in studies about reproductive strategy and is deemed to have evolved multiple times, both in aquatic and terrestrial taxa. To explore relationships between parental...

Production studies are fundamental for understanding various aspects of the organization and functioning of aquatic systems. The current state of knowledge on this subject is still little explored, especially regarding streams in the Neotropical region. In this study, we present the main theoretical frameworks, the different methods available in th...

The European eel is critically endangered. Although the quality of silver eels is essential for their reproduction, little is known about the effects of multiple contaminants on the spawning migration and the European eel management plan does not take this into account. To address this knowledge gap, we sampled 482 silver eels from 12 catchments ac...

This is the first comprehensive look at the taxonomy, life history, and conservation status of the world’s trout and char. These are fascinating and beautiful fish that rate high for the angler as well as for tourist and recreational economies. Trout and char also play key roles in the ecology of many lake and river systems around the world. Trout...

Introduction to the book, Trout and Char of the World

Here we summarize the current knowledge on the trout and char of central and southern Europe, including Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Mediterranean Islands, and northwestern Africa (Morocco and Algeria). We focus on the only two widely recognized native species: Brown Trout Salmo...

In brown trout (Salmo trutta L.), spatial patterns of population structure have been extensively studied. However, less attention has been paid to the short-term temporal stability of genetic diversity and factors modeling its distribution. Brown trout populations from three tributaries of the Esva River were genetically monitored in 2010 and 2011...

Here we summarize the current knowledge on the trout and char of central and southern Europe, including Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Mediterranean Islands, and northwestern Africa (Morocco and Algeria). We focus on the only two widely recognized native species: Brown Trout Salmo...

This study is about the spatial and temporal variability of the Hypophthalmus catfish fishery in the Amazonian floodplain lakes and the relationship among commercial CPUE, environmental and economic variables. The fishing productivity varies according to the fishing ground which varies due to the contribution of a set of variables. The most outstan...

Brown trout are among the fishes most valued by humans for food and recreation. This has not prevented their decline, however, and today native brown trout are found at only a fraction of their historic abundance. Countless native populations have been extirpated by overfishing, habitat destruction, and indiscriminate stocking of hatchery fish; man...

Recruitment is deemed to be a major determinant of year-class strength and may ‘per se’ establish patterns of population size. Therefore, determining the factors and mechanisms underlying recruitment is central in ecology and fishery research. A major difficulty to test hypotheses related to the role of density-dependent versus density-independent...

The head morphology and feeding habits of pairs of characin species (family Characidae) that coexist in four different coastal rainforest streams were analysed. Coexisting species differed in size, but were very similar in eco-morphological attributes. Gut analyses revealed differences in feeding preferences for each coexisting species, indicating...

The spawning migration of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) to the Sargasso Sea is one of the greatest animal migrations. However, the duration and route of the migration remain uncertain. Using fishery data from 20 rivers across Europe, we show that most eels begin their oceanic migration between August and December. We used electronic taggi...

This paper aims to describe the spatial-temporal variability in catch of the main fishery resources of the Amazon River and floodplain lakes of the Lower Amazon, as well as relating the Catch per Unit of Effort with anomalies of some of the Amazon River, atmosphere and Atlantic Ocean system variables, determining the influence of the environment on...

CPUE river dataset. Dataset of CPUE in the river for fishing grounds in Óbidos, Santarém and Monte Alegre and taxonomic families of fish. (AN) Anostomidae, (SR) Serrasalmidae, (CI) Cichlidae, (HY) Hypophthalmidae, (LR) Loricariidae, (PI) Pimelodidae, (PC) Prochilodontidae, (SC) Sciaenidae, (DR) Doradidae, (CL) Clupeidae. (XLSX)

Market index for each fishing ground. Market index considering river and floodplain lakes for Óbidos, Santarém and Monte Alegre fishing grounds. (XLSX)

CPUE lake dataset. Dataset of CPUE in the floodplain lakes for fishing grounds in Óbidos, Santarém and Monte Alegre and taxonomic families of fish. (AN) Anostomidae, (SR) Serrasalmidae, (CI) Cichlidae, (HY) Hypophthalmidae, (LR) Loricariidae, (PI) Pimelodidae, (PC) Prochilodontidae, (SC) Sciaenidae, (DR) Doradidae, (CL) Clupeidae. (XLSX)

CPUE lake dataset. Time series of environmental variables and climate indeces. (ARD) Amazon River Discharge, (WL) Water Level, (RF) Rainfall, (u) Zonal Wind Component, (v) Meridional Wind Component, (TEMP) Surface Temperature, (SPFH) Specific Humidity, (RUNOF) Runoff, (LHF) Latent Heat Flux, (SSTA) Sea Surface Temperature, (MEI) Multivariate ENSO I...

The effects of riparian forest removal on a neotropical stream fish assemblage were assessed in the MataAtlântica.Fishassemblagestructureandfishfeedingpatternswerequantifiedatthreesitesalong a pristine-to-deforested gradient in a Serra do Mar stream: (1) a pristine site fully covered by canopy with no light penetration and transparent waters, (2) a...

The effects of riparian forest removal on a neotropical stream fish assemblage were assessed in the Mata Atlântica. Fish assemblage structure and fish feeding patterns were quantified at three sites along a pristine-to-deforested gradient in a Serra do Mar stream: (1) a pristine site fully covered by canopy with no light penetration and transparent...

Species showing complex life cycles provide excellent opportunities to study the genetic associations between life cycle stages, as selective pressures may differ before and after metamorphosis. The European eel presents a complex life cycle with two metamorphoses, a first metamorphosis from larvae into glass eels (juvenile stage) and a second meta...

The objective was to explore levels of persistence and stability of a Neotropical fish assemblage in a typical Serra do Mar stream (Southeast Brazil) over 1994–2008 with 90 quantitative samples in total. All along the stream gradient, the fish assemblage was composed of small-sized, short living species including benthic and water column species. O...

Flooded forest is one of the most important fish habitats in Neotropical rivers, and one that is increasingly subjected to negative impacts from logging, agriculture, and other human activities. The purpose of our study was to test quantitatively whether fish richness and abundance in Amazonian floodplain lakes are associated with the area of flood...

This study describes and analyzes the influence of some abiotic and biotic characteristics of the Tarapoto system lakes (Colombian Amazon River) on the density and abundance of individuals of Arapaima gigas during the rising water period (January-March) of the year 2007. We determined water quality, production, morphology and connectivity character...

Processes leading to speciation in oceanic environments without obvious physical barriers remain poorly known. European and American eel (Anguilla anguilla and A. rostrata) spawn in partial sympatry in the Sargasso Sea. Larvae are advected by the Gulf Stream and other currents towards the European/North African and North American coasts, respective...

A multigear sampling method to quantify fish richness and abundance in Amazonian Terra firme streams was assessed. This method is based on the four-pass removal method using the combined application of different nets. The efficiency of the method was explored over 10 replicated sites along three streams over day, night and seasons. Use of four succ...

Density-dependent regulation is a necessary process for the long-term persistence of populations. Nevertheless, ecologists still debate whether floodplain fish populations are subject to density-dependent dynamics or mostly regulated by the density-independent seasonal flooding. We surveyed Jewel tetra (Hyphessonbrycon eques) populations during 4 y...

Recently, Minto et al. (2008), based on a fishery data set including marine, estuarine, and freshwater fishes, described higher variability in the survival rates of juveniles at low rather than at high parental density in an inversely density-dependent fashion and suggested density-dependent mechanisms underpinning those patterns. This study, based...

The objective was to explore how and when prey availability in the form of drift and benthos are exploited by two phylo-genetically distant but morphologically similar fish species namely Characidium vidali and Pimelodella lateristriga, the only two benthivorous species co-occurring in a pristine Serra do Mar stream (Southeastern Brazil). We simul...

The objective was to explore how and when prey availability in the form of drift and benthos are exploited by two phylo-genetically distant but morphologically similar fish species namely Characidium vidali and Pimelodella lateristriga, the only two benthivorous species co-occurring in a pristine Serra do Mar stream (Southeastern Brazil). We simult...

Purposeful species introductions offer opportunities to inform our understanding of both invasion success and conservation hurdles. We evaluated factors determining the energetic limitations of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in both their native and introduced ranges. Our focus was on brown trout because they are nearly globally distributed, considered...

Purposeful species introductions offer opportunities to inform our understanding of both invasion success and conservation hurdles. We evaluated factors determining the energetic limitations of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in both their native and introduced ranges. Our focus was on brown trout because they are nearly globally distributed, considered...

OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência de uma piscicultura em tanques-rede na dieta e nos atributos biológicos da espécie Apareiodon affinis na represa de Chavantes. MÉTODOS: Foram coletadas amostras da população ao redor dos tanques-rede (TR) e comparada com uma área sem esta influência, denominada controle (CT). As amostragens...

We hypothesized that Neotropical streams might exhibit higher drift and benthos densities than their Palearctic counterparts in order to sustain the high diversity of drift-and benthos-feeding fish species that typify this vast region. We assessed drift and benthos composition in two pristine streams deemed to represent the two less documented Neo...

1. This study investigates when and where density dependence operates on the mortality rates of stream‐resident brown trout Salmo trutta . To this aim, I explored populations in habitats of different quality containing high, low or intermediate densities over broad scales of space and time. The study is based on census data of 170 cohorts quantifie...

Total density of eels and the size and number of male silver eels Anguilla anguilla (L.) were quantified between 1990–2011 at 15 sites spread along four Rio Esva tributaries (Asturias, north-western Spain). A severe decline of recruitment and of eel density in the Rio Esva estuary from 1990 onwards coincided with a decline in the in-stream density...

1. We tested the hypothesis that lifetime mortality patterns and their corresponding rates and causal factors differ among populations of stream-living salmonids. To this end, we examined the lifetime mortality patterns of several successive cohorts of two stream-living brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations in Spain and Denmark. 2. In the southern...

The effectiveness of protected areas to conserve freshwater fishes is limited because these areas are not usually congruent with regional patterns of fish species richness and distribution. We compared the richness, distribution and abundance of coastal freshwater fishes in a biogeographic province of Venezuela to determine their conservation statu...

1. The objective was to identify the factors driving spatial and temporal variation in annual production (PA) and turnover (production/biomass) ratio (P/BA) of resident brown trout Salmo trutta in tributaries of the Rio Esva (Cantabrian Mountains, Asturias, north-western Spain). We examined annual production (total production of all age-classes ove...

The hypothesis that size-selective fishing induces magnified temporal variations in recruitment of fished, relative to un-fished, populations is explored by comparing the recruitment of two stream-resident populations of brown trout Salmo trutta inhabiting two tributaries of Rio Esva drainage (northwestern Spain). One population is exploited by ang...

The objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which, and the conditions under which, density operated on growth in stream-living brown trout (Salmo trutta). Observational data of 14 cohorts at four sites of Rio Chaballos (northwestern Spain) were examined. Consistent relationships between cohort-specific mass versus cohort-specific d...

The objective was to highlight the role of recruitment for production dynamics of stream brown trout (Salmo trutta). The analysis of 51 cohorts (hatched in 1986–1999) at four sites of Rio Chaballos (northwestern Spain) showed sinusoidal growth patterns with more intense growth in spring and summer and reduced growth in winter. Survivor abundance de...

Brown trout in the River Negro in northern Spain preferentially ate larger aquatic prey items (found throughout the water column). A model based on size-dependent prey encounters was able to account for this trend and to generate accurate predictions of the consumption of aquatic prey of different sizes. In contrast, the same model failed to predic...

Abstract  Infection by the parasitic nematode Anguillicoloides crassus Kuwahara, Niimi & Itagaki, in a wild riverine stock of European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.), in a near pristine river was investigated. Samples were collected on a seasonal basis in distinct habitats along the river gradient. This study highlighted the presence of the parasite a...

Analyses of the pigmentation stages and the size of glass eels during the arrival period to two northwestern Iberian estuaries (Ríos Nalón and Minho) and comparison of the patterns elucidated in this study with those reported for other geographical locations of the Atlantic and Mediterranean ranges showed nine pigmentation stages ranging from pract...

Current results emphasize huge variations in the recruitment across temporal and spatial scales. Not only annual recruitment varied substantially along the environmental gradients of the Streams but also from year to year. However, the relative among-site differences in recruitment within stream remain similar over the years caused by a strong temp...

The objective of this study was to elucidate the effects of density dependence on the individual size variation of brown trout (Salmo trutta) juveniles. Recruitment (the abundance of the youngest juveniles in May when they were 2 months old); the mean size attained by those individuals in September (6 months old) and the corresponding size variabil...

Abstract –  The objective of this study was to quantify fish species diversity in Terra firme streams of the Río Amazonas drainage. Fish diversity was quantified as the number of species collected or species richness in two sites of Yahuarcaca stream, a typical, first order tributary of the central Río Amazonas near Leticia (Colombia). The extremel...

1. The objective was to assess the role of recruitment as a determinant of the production dynamics of stream-resident brown trout (Salmo trutta) across replicate habitats of contrasting quality and population attributes. A total of 128-year-classes (YC) at 12 stream sites were examined along four tributaries of the Rio Esva drainage (northwestern S...

Abstract – The size of 2-month old trout Salmo trutta parr differed between sites and between years along the River Esva catchment (Asturias, northwestern Spain). Such variation was in a direction opposite to the variation observed in parental size. Parr were smaller in sites where parents grew faster, whereas larger parr occurred in sites where pa...

We delineate local and regional biogeographic provinces that suggest patterns of species richness, and primary and secondary freshwater fish distributions along the Caribbean coast of Venezuela. We use presence-absence records and classification and ordination models. Patterns at local and regional scales varied markedly such that primary species d...

Este estudio describe y analiza la influencia de algunas características abióticas y bióticas de los lagos del sistema de Tarapoto (ribera colombiana del río Amazonas) en la densidad y abundancia de los individuos de Arapaima gigas (Osteoglossiformes: Osteoglossidae), durante el periodo de aguas ascendentes (enero-marzo) del año 2007. Se determinar...

1. Around the year 2000, historically abundant populations of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Atlantic salmon (S. salar) co-occurring in rivers flowing along the Cantabrian corridor of north-western Spain showed a dramatic decline to alarming levels. For one reason or another, fishing was not banned and fishing pressure continued to reduce the few s...

Spatio-temporal variations in the structure, density, biomass and production rates of fish were assessed in the neotropical River Ubatiba (Serra do Mar, southeast Brazil). Electrofishing techniques and the length-frequency method were shown to be reliable for the assessment of fish numbers and production rates in these running waters of medium cond...

This study explored the extent to which variation in habitat factors related to growth and density influence self-thinning patterns in stream-living brown trout (Salmo trutta). Analysis of 110 cohorts at 12 sites of four contrasting streams revealed densitymass relationships in two phases. Density of survivors decreased little during the first half...

1. The objective was to explore the regulatory mechanisms underlying the numerical dynamics of a river stock of European eel Anguilla anguilla based on a purely observational study. We used a 21-year data set on the Rio Esva (Asturias, northwestern Spain) stock of eels, encompassing eel density at an estuary site and at nine sites distributed among...

Diel and seasonal shifts in the feeding activity and intensity of a riverine stock of European eels, Anguilla anguilla (L.), were assessed in the Río LLorín, a right-side tributary of the Río Esva drainage (northwestern Spain). No consistent diel cycles were detected in either season (eels feed with similar intensity in the day and at night), but i...

Diel and seasonal shifts in the feeding activity and intensity of a riverine stock of European eels, Anguilla anguilla (L.), were assessed in the Río LLorín, a right-side tributary of the Río Esva drainage (northwestern Spain). No consistent diel cycles were detected in either season (eels feed with similar intensity in the day and at night), but i...

Abstract –  This review of stream trout research literature for the 1987–2006 period covered >1300 papers dealing with 22 relevant topics, when compared with <400 papers on 18 topics in the previous one (1967–1986). The percentage of experimental approaches here quantified for both research reviews was 18% in the 1967–1976 period, increased to 21%...

The objective was to uncover