Pantanal temporary lake habitat

Footage of species found in a temporary lake at the Refugio da Ilha Ecolodge, in the southern Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This lake fills and floods during the wet season, connecting to a nearby river that bursts its banks. At present, water is draining from one lake into this one, creating flow in a small channel and filling the lake with sedimento and organic matter, providing foraging opportunities for the fish. Large numbers of fish use the lake to breed, raise fry and to to access food sources that are scarce in the dry season. Many predators enter the lake to take advantage of the smaller species. When the dry season begins, most fish move back into the nearby river, but those that fail to do so in time become cut off in the lakes and become part of the bounty for birds, caiman and many other animals who feed on fish trapped in drying pools.