Impact of Xingu dams on Dwarf Cichlids

[HaakonH]

Damming of the Rio Xingu in Brazil seems to be an unavoidable happening in the not too distant future. We've been discussing the issue for some time in detail over at Planetcatfish.com, dreading the demise of many of our beloved Catfish species. Many of them depend on their habitat's fast flowing, oxygen rich water to live, and the proposed dams will certainly be the end of most such habitats in the area. But what about the Cichlids (and other species as well, but since this forum is for Dwarf Cichlids...), does anyone have any views on how they will be affected by the dams? Several species of Apistogramma are found in the area, but do they stand a better chance of surviving the looming catastrophy?

-Haakon

 

[bigbird]

Hello Haakon,

Any daming of any river system will definately have an impact on any aquatic and other species. Daming will control the waters speed and also flow and ebb during rainy seasons, when most fish tend to spawn, as more area is underwater and thus more food available. The Apisto is partially lucky, as most of them do not like fast running water and do not need this oxygen rich water either for their air supply or algae encouragement for feeding. The catfish demise, might help the Apisto in a weird way, as more river and dam area would be available on their shores. The Apisto not being a deep water fish, really only needs leaf litter, some sand and roots etc. This would take some seasons to build up, but I am sure it would be easier for an Apisto to adapt than a catfish. Most Apistos are also allowed to be exported, whereas most of the catfish in this regions are not, so breeders have already established some fry from Apistos stock. I personally have lived in Brasil and do not like to see any man made object disrupt nature in any way. I am against the dam, but this catastrophic demise seems unstopable. I can only encourage local fish breeders in Brasil, to catch and breed as many Apisto and catfish from this Rio Xingu area, in order to keep these species alive. Not yet for export as this is prohibited partly, but breed them locally. In a way I am also surprised, that a large organisation has not build a proper breeding facility to house all of these fish that might be lost, especially as they would have enough time or people around the world donate and set up their own breeding house in Brasil to keep these species. Anyway just my thoughts...cheers jk

 

[animalmgc]

I think its really going to depend on if the Apisto will be able to adapt.Theres lakes back in Illinois (Close to the Wisc Border)that I use to fish that where plentiful with Muskie and Northern Pike.Those just dwindled when they decided they didn't like their new water soaked with gas from the motor boats.

 

[Mike Wise]

I think most of the apistos will adapt to the inundation of the Xingu by moving farther up the streams in which they presently reside. As far as I know, A. sp. Chao has only been found on some islands in the main channel of the Xingu. If they don't occur anywhere else, then they will be lost together with many species of Teleocichla.

As for species maintenance in Brazil, money talks. If it isn't profitable, sadly it won't be done - especially if they can't be exported.

 

[HaakonH]

So we may avoid the extinction of many of them in nature after all, this gives hope. Would it be possible to come up with a list of Dwarf Cichlids found in the Xingu area? I can think of A.pulchra, A.sp.'vielfleck' and A.sp.'Xingu'...

Haakon

 

[Mike Wise]

A. pulchra is from the Rio Madeira drainage, not the Xingu. Apisto species from the affected area of the Xingu include: A. sp. Xingu/Vielfleck/Samauma/sp. aff. Peixoto; A. sp. Chao; A. sp. Blauspiegel; A. sp. Parati/Paje. Other apisto species in the Xingu probably will not be influenced by the Monte Vista dam.

 

[slimbolen99]

I think some of us fail to realize that the temperature of the water coming out of a spillway or dam will drastically drop. If you've ever fished or played in a spillway below a dam, you'll notice that the water is VERY cold. Depending on the type of dam, and how it releases water, the temperature in the water immediately below the dam will decrease significantly.

I have not read up on the Xingu dams, but I would imagine they are large enough to do considerable damage.

 

[blueblue]

I was told that after the dam is constructed, many regions of the existing Rio Xingu will be completely DRY several months a year!! If it is true, the species in these regions probably won't survive anymore.... what a truly destructive project ...

 

[Mike Wise]

We will discover the true impact in a few years. Brazil finalized contracts for building the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu last week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11101842.

 

[blueblue]

We will discover the true impact in a few years. Brazil finalized contracts for building the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu last week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11101842.

thanks Mike for the sharing. I think the Brasil government is wise to have basically banned nearly all major pet fish from trading... this act would mean most aqua hobbyists would have no way to judge the impacts as we simply can't get fish even before the dam is constructed! This project's destruction to the world is really huge...

 

[Mike Wise]

I think the Brasil government is wise to have basically banned nearly all major pet fish from trading... this act would mean most aqua hobbyists would have no way to judge the impacts as we simply can't get fish even before the dam is constructed!

Yes, "wise" on their part. They are hoping "out of sight, out of mind". Now, it seems, Brazil only exports fish from areas where hydroelectric projects appear uneconomic: Rio Negro, coastal areas around Belém, lower Tapajós around Santarém, and the lower/middle Rio Madeira. The upper drainages of rivers that have their sources in the Guianan and Brazilian highlands all have potential for hydroelectric power.

 

[blueblue]

Yes, "wise" on their part. They are hoping "out of sight, out of mind". Now, it seems, Brazil only exports fish from areas where hydroelectric projects appear uneconomic: Rio Negro, coastal areas around Belém, lower Tapajós around Santarém, and the lower/middle Rio Madeira. The upper drainages of rivers that have their sources in the Guianan and Brazilian highlands all have potential for hydroelectric power.

It's really a pity. To be frank, despite the seemingly positive impacts of having "natural electricity", the problems created are also "super" substantial. Look at the case in China where we can find the largest dam in the world, there are huge ecological and environmental problems associated with the dam... to a certain extent, this kind of project does more harm than good from nearly all perspectives but the Brazil government still proceeds, probably with a political reason from the election thing... sighed.

 

[P.W.]

I think most of the apistos will adapt to the inundation of the Xingu by moving farther up the streams in which they presently reside. As far as I know, A. sp. Chao has only been found on some islands in the main channel of the Xingu. If they don't occur anywhere else, then they will be lost together with many species of Teleocichla.

As for species maintenance in Brazil, money talks. If it isn't profitable, sadly it won't be done - especially if they can't be exported.

There was a discussion about the Xingu dam project on Swedish cichlid forum some time ago. Someone started to wondering about how many cichlid species that would disappear because of the impact from this mega project.

Since my major interest in cichlids mainly focuses on Apistos. I was refering to your information above. Particulary the situation for the A.sp. Chao.
One guy commented by saying that the A.sp.Chao is not found in the Rio Xingu. It is to be found in Rio Tapajos, and close to Santarem and the village "Alter do Chão" from where this species have got it´s name.

This species was said to be exported on a regular basis from Santarem, and was described as a small greyish apisto belonging to the Pertensis complex. (no photo posted though)
I replyed by refering to info in a DATZ publication which says that the distribution of this species is some Islands in the Rio Xingu.

My question then; Are there actually two species with the name: Ap. sp. Chao?
One named after the collector N.L.Chao (info from U.Römer Cichliden atlas I), and one species named after the village Alter do Chao???
Mike, do you, or someone else have any information about this?

 

[Mike Wise]

A. sp. Chao is a small, slender undescribed species belonging to the Xingu-complex of the regani-group. It was named for Dr. Ning Labish Chao, who led a group of American hobbyists (who called their expedition "The Xingu Sh!t Heads":tongue on a collecting trip on the Rio Xingu above Altamira, Brazil in 1993. Jeff Cardwell was the American leader and Charlie Grimes was a member (what a combo that would have been!!). Both wrote of their experiences on the expedition. Dr. Chao placed preserved specimens of A. sp. Chao in the INPA collection as "Chao 93-107". The photo in Koslowski 2002 and the DATZ book show a wildcaught female that was given to me along with some F1 males and females. David Soares got his fish from the same source and sent them on to Dr. Römer. As far as I know, the species was never collected again. Based on the few photos that I have seen of the species A. sp. Itaparaná (introduced by Bleher and reported from the Rio Purus) appears to be the same species. I personally think that they are the same fish and that the Rio Purus location is erroneous. No Xing-complex form is known farther west than the Rio Tapajós. The Purus system is also in a different faunal realm from the Xingu. If my suspicions are correct, then the "Itaparaná" fish is the second time this species was collected. As for the claim that A. sp. Chao was collected in the lower Tapajós, this is erroneous. They probably are mistaking A. cf. pertensis (Pimental) for Chao. The Pimental is a different species. It not only is larger, but belongs to the pertensis-complex.

References:

Cardwell, Jeff. 1994. A dream trip. Cichlids of the Xingu! Cichlid News 4: 6-9.

Grimes, Charlie. 1994. Apistogramma Xingu River. The Apisto-gram #43 11(2): 16-20.

Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about this unusual and rare (in the hobby) species.:wink:

 

[P.W.]

Thanks a lot for this very interesting and detailed information, Mike!
Really would like to get hold of some of these tiny species with "reverse sexual dimorphism" (hope I spelled it right). A sp Chao and A sp Courtship spot, would be a great find! Haven´t seen any of these species in the stocklists though.

 

[Mike Wise]

I have kept and bred both A. sp. Chao and A. wapisana (= Balzfleck/Courting-spot). In my experience, A. wapisana does show reverse sexual dimorphism - males are smaller than females. A. sp. Chao (contrary to the claims of Dr. Römer) do not show reverse sexual dimorphism. Males and females are nearly identical in length, but females are more robust. This makes females of A. sp. Chao appear larger.

A. wapisana is an amazing species. I found it so odd to see the males 'flirt' with the females, very much like typical female apistos court with males. It isn't a spectacular beauty, but it doesn't require demanding water values and can be kept and bred in a very small aquarium.

 

[Rolo]

Hi,

here is an interesting movie (about 10 min), which shows the impact of the Belo Monte dam, using Google Earth.

regards,
Rolo