Spawning migrations of Lake Tana <i>Labeobarbus</i> spp. (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in the Ribb River, Ethiopia

Abstract

Spawning migration of the endemic Labeobarbus species of Lake Tana upstream and downstream of a proposed site for a large dam on the Ribb River, Ethiopia, were investigated to assess the dam’s potential impact on these fish. Fish were collected from five sites in the main channel and from seven tributaries during the spawning months in 2007 and 2010. Six species, namely L. brevicephalus, L. intermedius, L. megastoma, L. nedgia, L. truttiformis and L. tsanensis, were found to migrate more than 60 km up the Ribb River to spawn. There was a significant temporal segregation among four of the six species and all species used all of the seven tributaries located above and below the dam site. These results indicate that the dam will impede Labeobarbus migration.

Keywords: conservation, dam, endemic, riverine spawning, segregation, species flock

African Journal of Aquatic Science 2013, 38(Suppl.): 61–68