Relationships between Habitat Characteristics and Fish Assemblages in Small Streams of Central Amazonia

Mendonça, Fernando Pereira de; Magnusson, William E.; Zuanon, Jansen

doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2005)005[0751:rbhcaf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 153 publications

(217 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

182

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The observed influence of physical variables on species composition is similar to findings obtained in other studies conducted in temperate (Gorman and Karr 1978;Martin-Smith, 1998;Oberdorff et al, 2001) and tropical streams (Angermeier and Schlosser, 1989;Barrella and Petrere Jr., 1994;Araújo-Lima et al, 1999;Uieda and Barretto, 1999;Mendonça et al, 2005) and is in accordance with the river continuum concept (Vannotte et al, 1980), where species abundance and richness increase with enlargement of the stream channel due to greater heterogeneity or increased habitat availability. The observation of physical variation related to the size of the sampled water bodies, although an expected result, is strongly dependent on the selection of streams for sampling.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Ingenito and Buckup (2007) reported significant differences in ichthyofauna between the Parnaíba do Sul and Sapucaí basins, but little differentiation within these basins. In the Amazon, Mendonça et al (2005) found significant differences between streams that drain into the Negro River and those that drain into the Amazon River, but similar ichthyofauna compositions were observed within each of these drainage systems. The authors report physico-chemical differences between the streams, making it difficult to determine whether the basins are acting as discrete units or if physico-chemical characteristics are more relevant in differentiating the ichthyofauna composition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The sampling procedure employed was based on the protocol developed by Mendonça et al (2005). In each of the selected streams, a 50 m stretch was outlined and blocked at both ends using fine mesh nets (5 mm between opposing knots) to prevent fish from escaping during collection.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have shown that the composition of fish communities is distinct in adjacent basins isolated by watershed divisions (Mendonça et al, 2005;Ingenito and Buckup, 2007). In such cases, the watershed acts as a barrier to the dispersal of species between basins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, fish community structure is also thought to be influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, which operate and interact on various spatial and temporal scales (Angermeier and Winston, 1998;Matthews, 1998). On a regional scale, physical characteristics, such as stream size (Angermeier and Karr, 1984), water velocity (Mendonça et al, 2005), depth (Angermeier and Karr, 1984;Martin-Smith, 1998), and habitat diversity (Gorman and Karr 1978;Angermeier and Schlosser, 1989), or physico-chemical properties, such as electrical conductivity (Taylor et al, 1993;Mérigoux et al, 1998) and pH (Townsend et al, 1983), have also been considered to be factors that govern the occurrence and distribution of fish species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Effects of isolation and environmental variables on fish community structure in the Brazilian Amazon Madeira-Purus interfluve

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the existence of terrestrial barriers to freshwater fish dispersion, it is believed that its distribution is strongly associated with historical factors related to the formation of the habitats they occupy. By the other hand, some studies reveal the influence of abiotic conditions (such as size of water bodies, pH, conductivity) on the composition of fish fauna occurring in small streams. This study aimed to investigate whether drainage basins, because catchment boundaries are potential barriers to fish dispersion, or the physical structure and physico-chemical characteristics of water have a greater influence on fish community structure in small streams. We sampled 22 streams belonging to five drainage basins in the Madeira-Purus interfluve. Fish were caught with dip nets and a small trawl, and data were simultaneously obtained on structural characteristics of the streams and physico-chemical characteristics of the water. Community composition was analyzed using Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS), and variables related to structural and physico-chemical characteristics were summarized by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Two explanatory models relating faunal composition to environmental factors were constructed: the first using only continuous variables and the second including the drainage basin as a categorical variable. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and AIC weight were used to select the best model. Although structural and physico-chemical variables significantly contributed to explaining faunal composition, the model including the drainage basin was clearly the better of the two models (more than 90% support in the data). The importance of drainage basins in structuring fish communities in streams may have significant consequences for conservation planning in these environments.Keywords: Ichthyofauna, fish ecology, physical variables, chemical variables, western Amazon. Efeito do isolamento e das variáveis ambientais na estrutura de comunidades de peixes do interflúvio Madeira-Purus na Amazônia brasileira ResumoDevido à existência de barreiras terrestres à dispersão de peixes de água doce, acredita-se que sua distribuição é fortemente associada a fatores históricos relacionados à formação dos habitats que ocupam. Por outro lado, alguns estudos revelam a influência de condições abióticas (tais como o tamanho do corpo d'água, pH, condutividade) na composição da fauna ictiíca de rios de pequena ordem. Este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar se bacias hidrográficas, cujo divisor de águas representa uma potencial barreira para a dispersão dos peixes, ou a estrutura física e características físico-químicas da água têm maior efeito sobre a estrutura de comunidades de peixes de riachos de pequena ordem.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Effects of isolation and environmental variables on fish community structure in the Brazilian Amazon Madeira-Purus interfluve

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Native and introduced fish community structure in a freshwater swamp forest: Implications for conservation and management

Ramchunder

Memory

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Freshwater swamp forests are poorly studied but highly threatened freshwater habitats, especially in Southeast Asia. Very little is known about the environmental factors associated with the assembly and spatial distribution of fish communities in these acid‐water habitats, although such knowledge is of immense importance for conservation and management. Fish assemblages in 40 stream sites throughout the Nee Soon Swamp Forest, Singapore, were surveyed using push nets from October 2013 to November 2014. The Nee Soon Swamp Forest is the last substantial remnant of freshwater swamp forest habitat in Singapore, and today it is the only refuge for many of the native forest‐specialist freshwater fish species. The overall diversity and richness of the fish community are positively correlated with depth, stream order, and canopy cover, and are negatively correlated with distance to a connected reservoir, mean velocity, and silt substrate. Observed patterns indicate that three main communities exist, each with distinct associated species and environmental parameters. One is a novel community of introduced species and non‐forest specialist native species found only at the outskirts (downstream portion) of the swamp forest, close to a reservoir connection that drains the swamp, whereas the other two communities are found in the interior of the swamp forest and harbour mostly forest‐specialist native species of restricted distribution and high conservation value. The community on the outskirts may be a potential route for introduced species to spread and establish populations deeper within the swamp forest. At present the native community within the swamp forest appears to be healthy, but constant monitoring is needed to ensure that the native community is not threatened by loss of habitat or introduced species.

show abstract

Structural Dynamics of Pristine Headwater Streams from Southern Brazilian Amazon

Bleich

André

Piedade

2015

River Research & Apps

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Amazonian headwater streams trail a heterogeneous landscape, with marked natural variation of geomorphological conditions and hydrological periods. Southern Brazilian Amazon is subjected to high degradation pressure, mainly from deforestation. Hence, we characterize pristine headwaters structure (hydromorphology and water physical-chemical variables) and variation among hydrological periods (dry, beginning of the rainy period and end of the rainy period), to define reference conditions for conservation-oriented classification, monitoring and rehabilitation of the southern Brazilian Amazon streams. Stretches of 10 pristine streams from the Teles Pires River, a major tributary of the Tapajós River, were analysed for hydromorphology, water physical-chemical variables and controlled for habitat integrity (forested proportion on buffer zones and habitat integrity index). We found variation among hydrological periods and spatial heterogeneity on pristine stream structure. Most variables showed great variation ranges at the same hydrological period and high variation coefficient values, reflecting the natural environmental heterogeneity among streams protected by a riparian forest. Variation among hydrological periods and spatial heterogeneity between streams in this region, combined with current high levels of deforestation, indicates the need for the conservation of a high proportion of streams and their respective riparian forests. Here, we have presented reference range values for monitoring and rehabilitation programs integrated in the Amazonian aquatic conservation efforts.

show abstract

Relationships between Habitat Characteristics and Fish Assemblages in Small Streams of Central Amazonia

Cited by 153 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of isolation and environmental variables on fish community structure in the Brazilian Amazon Madeira-Purus interfluve

Effects of isolation and environmental variables on fish community structure in the Brazilian Amazon Madeira-Purus interfluve

Native and introduced fish community structure in a freshwater swamp forest: Implications for conservation and management

Structural Dynamics of Pristine Headwater Streams from Southern Brazilian Amazon

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About