title: Microhabitat use, population densities, and size distributions of sulfur cave-dwelling Poecilia mexicana.
abstract: The Cueva del Azufre in Tabasco, Mexico, is a nutrient-rich cave and its inhabitants need to cope with high levels of dissolved hydrogen sulfide and extreme hypoxia. One of the successful colonizers of this cave is the poeciliid fish Poecilia mexicana, which has received considerable attention as a model organism to examine evolutionary adaptations to extreme environmental conditions. Nonetheless, basic ecological data on the endemic cave molly population are still missing; here we aim to provide data on population densities, size class compositions and use of different microhabitats. We found high overall densities in the cave and highest densities at the middle part of the cave with more than 200 individuals per square meter. These sites have lower H2S concentrations compared to the inner parts where most large sulfide sources are located, but they are annually exposed to a religious harvesting ceremony of local Zoque people called La Pesca. We found a marked shift in size/age compositions towards an overabundance of smaller, juvenile fish at those sites. We discuss these findings in relation to several environmental gradients within the cave (i.e., differences in toxicity and lighting conditions), but we also tentatively argue that the annual fish harvest during a religious ceremony (La Pesca) locally diminishes competition (and possibly, cannibalism by large adults), which is followed by a phase of overcompensation of fish densities.
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany ; Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiKF) , Frankfurt am Main , Germany.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jourdan
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries , Berlin , Germany.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bierbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK.
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riesch
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schießl
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wigh
authors.affiliation: División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT) , Villahermosa, Tabasco , México.
authors.forename: Lenin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Arias-Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT) , Villahermosa, Tabasco , México.
authors.forename: Jeane Rimber
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Indy
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klaus
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zimmer
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Plath
keywords: Cave fish; Extremophile teleosts; Fisheries; Overcompensation; Rotenone
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