Data from: Insight into trophic niche differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin)
Data files
Apr 07, 2025 version files 44.56 KB
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Raw_data_SL_MW_Stable_Isotopic_DataSubmitted_DriadRev3.xlsx
42.51 KB
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README.md
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Abstract
Mouth morphology plays a crucial role in determining the trophic ecology of fish and sometimes underpins important lineage diversification. Freshwater teleost fish species belonging to the genus Labeobarbus, commonly found in Africa, exhibit intra- and interspecific variation and differences in the lower jaw occurring within and between species, respectively. Different phenotypes include a curved U-shape (‘rubberlips’), a straight lower jaw (‘chiselmouth’) and an intermediate morphology known as the smiling phenotype. In some cases, smiling originates from hybridisation between chiselmouth and rubberlips. However, the trophic relationships of different mouth morphologies in the Labeobarbus taxa are still not well understood, particularly in the Congo Basin. Understanding the trophic ecology of Labeobarbus can enhance understanding of adaptive processes in morphologically diverse lineages. This study aims to investigate how differences in mouth morphology among multiple Labeobarbus species in the Luhoho River (Upper Congo Basin) link with different trophic niche uses. We combined information from gut morphometry, gut contents and stable isotope analyses on 202 fish specimens representing six species across four tributaries of the Middle Luhoho. All approaches consistently revealed trophic niche partitioning between chiselmouth and rubberlip species, respectively, more herbivorous/detritivorous and more insectivorous on the omnivory spectrum. In addition, trophic differences were also found between species within each mouth phenotype. Interestingly, the trophic niche of the smiling phenotype differed strongly from those of other phenotypes at all sites except for L. paucisquamatus, for which the trophic niches overlapped in Tchinganda. The pattern of trophic niche of Labeobarbus suggests subtle strategies to partition feeding resources when they occur across a narrow hydrographic scale.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qfttdz0s9
Description of the data and file structure
Organizing fieldwork. Collecting fish specimens. Taking standard length and mouth width. MCollecting guts and muscles. Analysing the guts. Conducting laboratory work for stable isotopic analysis.
The attached data file contains raw data based on a paper about the trophic ecology of Labeobarbus in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo) was prepared. This file includes three Excel spreadsheets, each corresponding to a section of the analysis conducted in our study. The first spreadsheet contains morphometric data, the second includes raw gut content data, and the third provides stable isotopic data. Each row in these datasets associates the species name with the respective locality and the corresponding data of the specimen.
Files and variables
File: Raw_data_SL_MW_Stable_Isotopic_Data.xlsx
Description:
Variables
Sheet of Morphometric data related to feeding
- Locality
- Species
- Standard length (mm)
- Mouth width (mm)
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Intestine length (mm): (missing for some specimens: null)
Sheet of Intestine contents
Part 1 of the sheet: Indices of each item found in the intestine are presented (%)
Part 2 of the sheet: Raw data of volumetric index (%)
Part 3 of Sheet of Stable Isotopic data:
- Field code
- P1-P24 are putative foods collected in the areas
- Name of each putative food and species
- River
- Standard length (not applicable to putative foods and missing data for two fish samples)
- d13C (‰)
- d14N (‰)
Code/software
We used R version 3.3.1and 3.6.1 in the package SIBER version 2.1.0 for Isotopic niche modelling and the Vegan package for ANOSIM and GLM
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- None
Data was derived from the following sources:
- None
In the field, specimens were collected using cast nets, with most fishing activities taking place during the daytime. For each specimen captured, morphometric data, as well as gut and muscle samples from the right side of the fish body, were taken. In the laboratory, the gut contents were analysed along and stable isotopic data. The methodology is described in detail in the paper.