European catfish Silurus glanis behaviour in response to a strong summer hypoxic event in a shallow lake

International audienceHypoxic events have always naturally occurred in freshwater ecosystems but are worsening due to anthropogenic activities. Hypoxia tolerance greatly varies among fish species and is difficult to quantify in nature in large fish species. We analysed the movements of 40 subadult and adult European catfish Silurus glanis ([727; 2150] mm) exposed to a natural summer hypoxic event in a shallow lake of southeastern France. Catfish could withstand very low dissolved oxygen concentrations (DOC), down to 1.3 mg/L in the upper half of the water column (corresponding to a mean dissolved oxygen saturation rate of 16%), when their preferred benthic habitats were anoxic. While hypoxia was becoming more severe, individuals significantly increased their activity and the surface area they visited, whatever their size. This led them to a refuge zone where they aggregated or stayed in close vicinity, very little mobile, over one and a half day during the overall anoxia of the lake. This zone, located very close to the well oxygenated water inflow, was probably one of the most oxygenated accessible zone. During this aggregation, the smallest individuals were however more active than the largest ones. This was probably because they more often needed to move to better oxygenated places within the gathering area, compared to larger dominant fish that occupied the best places. The ability of catfish to withstand very low DOC, along with its high optimum temperature range, could give it a competitive advantage over other predatory species in the context of global change