Genetics and telemetry indicate unexpected movements among structured populations for Brachyplatystoma platynemum in the Amazon

Abstract

The genetic analysis of Brachyplatystoma platynemum individuals sampled from the lower Madeira River reinforces the existence of two structured populations in the Amazon Basin (Madeira and Amazon populations). However, the recapture of an individual from the Amazon population in the Solimões River, which was telemetry‐tagged in the Madeira River after the damming, indicates that fish from the Amazon population move between the two river systems. This has not been observed, however, in the Madeira River population, which is currently divided and isolated in the lower and upper Madeira River by the construction of two dams.