Fish Community Structure as a Measure of Degradation and Rehabilitation of Riparian Systems in an Agricultural Drainage Basin

Wichert, Gordon A.; Rapport, David J.

doi:10.1007/s002679900117

Cited by 80 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Furthermore, it was seen that fish species diversity is high in undisturbed water courses with riparian vegetation cover, because they present a greater availability of habitats, low oscillation of environmental conditions (Wichert & Rapport, 1998;Stauffer et al, 2000;Vondracek et al, 2005;Gomiero & Braga, 2006) and availability of fish food, such as aquatic insects (Winemiller et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the structure of fish assemblages in streams along an undisturbed-impacted gradient, upper Paraná River basin, Central Brazil

Dias

Tejerina‐Garro

2010

Neotrop. ichthyol.

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The João Leite River is located in the upper Paraná basin, Central Brazil. It drains areas covered by Cerrado vegetation interspersed with urban and agricultural areas. This study aims to asses changes of the fish assembleges structure along a undisturbed-impacted gradient in ten stream stretches using ecological descriptors, a similarity index and the abundancebiomass relationship (ABC curves). The fish were collected during the dry period using electrofishing gear in stretches of 50 m. Results show that the environmental variation observed along the undisturbed-impacted gradient considered influences on fish assemblage structure. Both richness and diversity differences between fish assemblages are partially influenced by stream stretch orthonian order and anthropogenic impacts. ABC curves classified six stream stretches located in preserved or impacted areas as undisturbed while four stretches were classified as disturbed. This is attributed to the influence of the undisturbed habitat within the conservation unit and the presence of K-or r-strategist species. This type of study contributes to an understanding of the effects of aquatic environment conservation on the Brazilian Cerrado core area, where the choice of conservation areas prioritizes terrestrial over aquatic aspects.O ribeirão João Leite está localizado no alto da bacia do rio Paraná, Brasil Central, onde drena áreas cobertas por vegetação tipo Cerrado intercaladas com áreas urbanas e agrícolas. Este estudo objetiva avaliar as mudanças na estrutura das assembleias de peixes ao longo de um gradiente ambiental (não perturbado-impactado) em trechos de dez riachos utilizando descritores ecológicos, um índice de similaridade e a relação abundância-biomassa (curvas ABC). Os peixes foram coletados durante o período da estiagem em trechos de 50 m utilizando a pesca elétrica. Os resultados indicam que a variabilidade ambiental observada ao longo do gradiente considerado influencia na estrutura das assembleias de peixes. As diferenças observadas entre a riqueza e diversidade das assembleias de peixes são parcialmente influenciadas pela ordem do riacho e os impactos antropogênicos. As curvas ABC classificam seis trechos localizados em áreas preservadas ou impactadas como não perturbados e quatro como perturbados. Isto é atribuído à influência do habitat preservado presente na unidade de conservação e à presença de espécies com estratégias K-ou r-. Este tipo de estudo contribui ao entendimento dos efeitos da conservação do ambiente aquático na área central do Cerrado brasileiro, onde as escolhas de áreas de conservação dão prioridade aos aspectos terrestres em detrimento dos aquáticos.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the structure of fish assemblages in streams along an undisturbed-impacted gradient, upper Paraná River basin, Central Brazil

Dias

Tejerina‐Garro

2010

Neotrop. ichthyol.

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“…Vegetation in these areas is very heterogeneous, and riparian vegetation is one example of this variation, showing phytophysiognomies ranging from grassland to closed canopy (Ratter et al, 1997;Ribeiro & Walter, 1998). Considering the strong predictive power of riparian vegetation in structuring stream fish communities (Wichert & Rapport, 1998;Growns et al, 2003), it is plausible that the spatial distribution of fish species can be affected by alterations in the longitudinal variation of riparian vegetation structure in Cerrado streams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the riparian zone phytophysiognomies on the longitudinal distribution of fishes: evidence from a Brazilian savanna stream

Teresa

Romero

2010

Neotrop. ichthyol.

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The structure and composition of a fish community in a tributary stream of the Aquidauana River, located in the plateau region of the Paraguay River basin, central west Brazil are described, with special attention to the differential effects of the phytophysiognomies of the Cerrado (a tropical savanna), which are predominant in riparian zones all along their longitudinal gradient. A total of 1,166 individuals belonging to 44 species were captured. Similarity analyses of composition and abundance showed two groups: upstream reaches (R1 and R2) and downstream reaches (R3, R4 and R5), which presented 85.8% of the average dissimilarity. Although physical habitat and physicochemical descriptors varied along the longitudinal gradient of the Correntes stream, shoreline vegetation was the most important environmental feature predicting fish structure and composition. The Mantel test revealed a correlation between shoreline vegetation structure and fish composition and quantitative structure of the fish community (R > 0.65; p < 0.04). This relationship is driven by the prevalence of species occupying microhabitats associated with shoreline vegetation in contact with water in upstream reaches. Structural differences in shoreline vegetation along the longitudinal gradient correspond to the phytophysiognomic dichotomy observed in the Correntes stream, where riparian vegetation is made up of wet grassland upstream and of gallery forest downstream; this reinforces the importance of the phytophysiognomic heterogeneity of the Cerrado in maintaining ichthyofauna diversity.São descritas a estrutura e composição da comunidade de peixes em um riacho afluente do rio Aquidauana, localizado na região planáltica da bacia do rio Paraguai, centro-oeste do Brasil, com atenção especial aos efeitos diferenciais das fitofisionomias de Cerrado predominantes nas zonas ripárias ao longo do seu gradiente longitudinal. Foram capturados 1.166 indivíduos pertencentes a 44 espécies. As análises de similaridade com a composição e abundância evidenciaram dois grupos: os trechos a montante (R1 e R2) e trechos a jusante (R3, R4 e R5), os quais apresentaram 85,8% de dissimilaridade média. Embora os descritores fisico-químicos e do habitat físico tenham variado ao longo do gradiente longitudinal do córrego Correntes, a vegetação marginal foi o componente ambiental mais importante predizendo a estrutura e composição da ictiofauna. O teste de Mantel revelou correlação entre a estrutura da vegetação marginal com a composição e estrutura quantitativa da comunidade de peixes (R > 0.65; p < 0.04). Essa relação é representada pela prevalência de espécies que exploram micro-habitats associados à vegetação marginal em contato com a água nos trechos a montante. As diferenças na estrutura da vegetação marginal ao longo do gradiente longitudinal correspondem à dicotomia fitofisionômica observada no córrego Correntes, cuja vegetação marginal é constituída de campos úmidos à montante e por fisionomias florestais nos trechos à jusante, reforçando a importância da hetero...

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“…In streams of Wisconsin (Richards & Host, 1994) and Michigan (Roth et al, 1996) the inverse correlation was significant and strong, up to r = -0.70. Similarly, Wichert and Rapport (1998) found that fish communities significantly declined in streams in Southern Ontario as agriculture intensified. For streams in Illinois, Fitzpatrick, Scudder, Lenz, and Sullivan (2001) reported that IBI values tend to be low when agriculture cover is >10 % in the stream buffer zone (r = -0.76).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land use and biotic integrity in shallow streams of the Hondo River basin, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Pacheco-Díaz

Schmitter‐Soto

Schmook

et al. 2017

RBT

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Aquatic environments face a variety of threats in the Hondo River basin, Southeastern Yucatán Peninsula. Some of these impacts, like pollution by pesticides, may depend on land use and cover. Our objective was to assess the effect of land use/cover using a previously published index of biotic integrity (IBI), based on fishes and designed for shallow streams in the Hondo River basin. Our hypothesis was that land uses that cause deforestation and pollution, such as urbanization, cattle breeding, or sugar cane fields, would be reflected in low IBI values, at least at some spatial scales. The 23 sites originally used in [2008][2009] to estimate by electrofishing the relative abundance and other characteristics of selected fish species and guilds to construct the IBI, were revisited in February 2010, to validate by direct inspection the type of land use/cover suggested by landscape information in digital databases. We analyzed the effect of seven types of land use/cover (agriculture, pasture, human settlements, water bodies, wetlands, forest, and secondary vegetation) on the IBI values, at four spatial scales, i.e., the percent of every land use/cover at progressively larger circles (125, 250, 500, and 1 000 m diameter) centered on the water body where the IBI value was measured. Correlations were established among the percent land/use cover by scale around 23 sites, and with their corresponding IBI values. Then, Student's t tests were calculated to examine significant differences in land use/cover between groups of localities above and below the median IBI value, and Mann-Whitney's U tests were applied to compare IBI values between localities with and without a given landscape cover. Agriculture, human settlements, and secondary vegetation correlated negatively with the IBI; forests positively. Differences were significant (p<0.05) for forest (higher in sites with higher IBI values) and human settlements (lower in sites with higher IBI). Of all the landscape categories located in the Hondo River basin, with the exception of pasture, those of anthropogenic origin tended to be detrimental to aquatic biotic integrity. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65 (4): 1448-1458. Epub 2017 December 01.Key words: human impact, fishes, environmental risk, landscape dynamics, index of biotic integrity, aquatic diversity.Along the Mexican-Belizean Hondo River basin, most human settlements used to subsist on forestry, agriculture, livestock, and tourism (although since the early 2000s most of them rely on government subsidies and remittances from the United States or from Cancún and Playa del Carmen: Castellanos, 2010). Some of these activities threaten freshwater systems due to creation of waste, such as organic matter and pesticides, among others. Agriculture, transport, and urban residual water are the main sources of pollution (Buenfil-Rojas, Álvarez-Legorreta, & Cedeño-Vázquez, 2014;Sánchez, Álvarez-Legorreta, Pacheco, Carrillo, & González, 2016). Additionally, the presence of invasive species in the region, like tilapia Oreochromis mo...

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Fish Community Structure as a Measure of Degradation and Rehabilitation of Riparian Systems in an Agricultural Drainage Basin

Cited by 80 publications

References 44 publications

Changes in the structure of fish assemblages in streams along an undisturbed-impacted gradient, upper Paraná River basin, Central Brazil

Changes in the structure of fish assemblages in streams along an undisturbed-impacted gradient, upper Paraná River basin, Central Brazil

Influence of the riparian zone phytophysiognomies on the longitudinal distribution of fishes: evidence from a Brazilian savanna stream

Land use and biotic integrity in shallow streams of the Hondo River basin, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

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