Host diversity, phylogenetic relationships and local environmental factors drive infection patterns of a non-native parasite in tropical floodplain fish assemblages

Northern Australia is biologically diverse and of national and global conservation signicance. Its ancient landscape contains the world’s largest area of savannah ecosystem in good ecological condition and its rivers are largely free-flowing. Agriculture, previously confined largely to open range-land grazing, is set to expand in extent and to focus much more on irrigated cropping and horticulture. Demands on the water resources of the region are thus, inevitably increasing. Reliable information is required to guide and inform development and help plan for a sustainable future for the region which includes healthy rivers that contain diverse fish assemblages. Based on a range of information sources, including the outcomes of recent and extensive new field surveys, this study maps the distribution of the 111 freshwater fishes (excluding elasmobranches) and 42 estuarine vagrants recorded from freshwater habitats of the region. We classify the habitat use and migratory biology of each species. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the diversity and distribution of fishes of the region within a standardised nomenclatural framework. In addition, we summarise the outcomes of recent phylogeographic and phylogenetic research using molecular technologies to identify where issues of taxonomy may need further scrutiny. The study provides an informed basis for further research on the spatial arrangement of biodiversity and its relationship to environmental factors (e.g. hydrology), conservation planning and phylogentic variation within individual taxa.

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Predicting the vertical distributions of reef fish larvae in the Straits of Florida from environmental factors

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f10-116 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 67 (11) ◽

pp. 1755-1767 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Klaus B. Huebert ◽

Su Sponaugle ◽

Robert K. Cowen

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Reef Fish ◽

Coral Reef Fish ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Fish Larvae ◽

Straits Of Florida ◽

Diel Vertical Migrations ◽

Vertical Distributions

Three seasons of vertically stratified ichthyoplankton sampling at the edge of the Florida Current revealed consistent accumulations of some coral reef fish larvae under taxon-specific environmental conditions. Environmental variability ranging from predictable (seasonal differences in temperature, diel changes in light, and vertical gradients in many variables) to stochastic (changes in wind-driven turbulence and patchiness of zooplankton) was used to model larval distributions. In five taxa, including the commercially important Epinephelini (groupers), relative larval densities were predicted with significant accuracy based entirely on sampling depth. Models yielding these predictions were cross-validated among all seasons, indicating that larval vertical distributions were remarkably unaffected by other environmental factors, while revealing strong behavioral preferences for specific ranges of hydrostatic pressure. Pomacentridae (damselfish) larvae consistently occupied shallower depths at night than during the day, demonstrating diel vertical migrations. At the community level, depth and season were two major factors structuring larval coral reef fish assemblages. Predictable vertical distributions of larvae in the Straits of Florida can facilitate modeling the same taxa elsewhere in the Western Central Atlantic.

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Are non-native species larger in their invaded range? A test with tropical floodplain fish assemblages following inundation of a biogeographic barrier

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-015-0951-y ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 (11) ◽

pp. 3263-3274 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Dilermando P. Lima Junior ◽

David J. Hoeinghaus ◽

Luis M. Bini ◽

Angelo A. Agostinho

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Biogeographic Barrier ◽

Tropical Floodplain

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Environmental Factors Affecting Large-Bodied Coral Reef Fish Assemblages in the Mariana Archipelago

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0031374 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. e31374 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Benjamin L. Richards ◽

Ivor D. Williams ◽

Oliver J. Vetter ◽

Gareth J. Williams

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Reef Fish ◽

Coral Reef Fish ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Factors Affecting

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Role of environmental and spatial processes structuring fish assemblages in streams of the eastern Amazon

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf17103 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

pp. 243 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

N. L. Benone ◽

R. Ligeiro ◽

L. Juen ◽

L. F. A. Montag

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Flood Plain ◽

Habitat Isolation ◽

Flood Plains ◽

Β Diversity ◽

Flood Period ◽

Stream Fish Assemblages ◽

Stream Biota

Considering the increasing importance of analysing spatial structure in ecological studies, the aims of the present study were to test whether fluvial distances and environmental factors are important drivers of the β-diversity of stream fish assemblages, and whether β-diversity is different in distinct hydrological periods. Specimens were sampled at 33 stream sites in the eastern Amazon. Eight environmental variables were measured at each site and fluvial distances between pairs of stream sites were determined. Environmental variables were the main factors structuring fish assemblages in both periods. However, fluvial distances were important only during the flood period. This can be related to the formation of extensive flood plains in this period, which increases connectivity between streams, breaking habitat isolation and increasing the regional signal for fish species. The higher correlation of β-diversity with environmental variables during the flood period may be related to decreased dispersal limitations and intermediate dispersal. Finally, β-diversity was higher during the flood period, highlighting the importance of the heterogeneity of the flood plain to stream biota. The results of the present study indicate that spatial and environmental factors play complementary roles in structuring fish assemblages in Amazon streams, and that β-diversity was affected by changes in the habitat connectivity experienced in different hydrological periods.

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