Habitat use by the African anabantid fish Ctenopoma muriei: implications for costs of air breathing

Abstract –  This study examined whether habitat use by the African anabantid fish Ctenopoma muriei is consistent with predictions relating to two costs of air breathing (surface travel and aerial predation). We predicted that C. muriei would be most abundant in habitats that minimize potential costs of air breathing. We quantified environmental correlates of C. muriei abundance within a series of wetland lagoons in Uganda and found that C. muriei was more abundant in shallow waters of the deepest lagoon, in vegetated habitats, and at a depth 15–30 cm below the surface. These locations may minimize cost of travel to the surface for aerial respiration, while maintaining a reasonable distance from the surface to avoid detection by aerial predators. In addition, we experimentally tested effectiveness of vegetative cover in reducing mortality of C. muriei by aerial predators (pied kingfishers) using enclosures with and without vegetation cover in a swamp pool. We found that the presence of vegetative cover significantly reduced susceptibility of C. muriei to predation by pied kingfishers when dissolved oxygen in the water was low and air-breathing frequency was potentially high.