The functional composition of nearshore fish communities demonstrated by trait analysis: Response to environmental gradients

We examined physical habitat and fish assemblages in rivers of the Aroa Mountains (Venezuela) with different levels of environmental protection due to the creation of Yurubí National Park within the drainage. We developed an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) and evaluated it using principal components analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Tributary rivers were divided into classes according to their origin (protected by the park) and physical characteristics of each, including substrate. Fishes were captured using standardized electrofishing. Fish communities showed greater species richness in heterogeneous habitat and protected rivers but overall abundance was higher in unprotected and impacted rivers. The IBI was sensitive to these differences and the scores were higher in protected rivers. The IBI detected degree of disturbance of fish communities without direct consideration of habitat parameters measured. The PCA revealed a gradient in substrate heterogeneity. Similarly, CCA revealed differences in fish assemblage composition along the environmental gradient and that varied with protection status of the river. The relationship between PCA and IBI scores was highly significant (r² = 0.61, P < 0.0001). The PCA and CCA analysis moderately validated the structure and predictability of IBI; but it is still necessary to refine the model and to extend its application for more time and over a wider area.

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Variability in the functional composition of coral reef fish communities on submerged and emergent reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef, Australia

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0216785 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. e0216785 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amanda M. Cooper ◽

Chancey MacDonald ◽

T. Edward Roberts ◽

Tom C. L. Bridge

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Reef Fish ◽

Coral Reef Fish ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Functional Composition ◽

Barrier Reef

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Spatial and temporal variability of fish communities of the Upper Mississippi River, USA

Animal Biology ◽

10.1163/157075609x417107 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 67-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ayhan Yildirim ◽

Mark Pegg

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Community Structure ◽

Mississippi River ◽

Fish Community ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

River System ◽

Functional Composition ◽

Upper Mississippi River ◽

Fish Community Structure

AbstractFish community structure, morphological characteristics, functional composition, and life history attributes in relation to three aquatic habitats, backwater shoreline (BWS), main channel borders (MCB), and side channel borders (SCB) in Pool 4 of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) were assessed. Fish communities were sampled annually using standardized electrofishing techniques from 1994 to 2004. We found significant differences in community composition and abundance, and the clearest pattern was that diversity and fish community structure in BWS were different from those in both MCB and SCB. We also found morphological characteristics, functional composition, and life-history differences among the habitats, with fish communities from BWS having a number of different characteristics from both MCB and SCB. Temporal changes in fish abundance, community structure, morphological, functional and life-history attributes from each habitat may reflect both human impact and environmental factors on the Upper Mississippi River System.

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Structure of marine predator and prey communities along environmental gradients in a glaciated fjord

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f2012-117 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 69 (12) ◽

pp. 2029-2045 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Martin Renner ◽

Mayumi L. Arimitsu ◽

John F. Piatt

Keyword(s):

Trophic Level ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Harbor Seal ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Tidewater Glaciers ◽

Rissa Tridactyla ◽

Marine Predator ◽

Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽

Biological Attributes

Spatial patterns of marine predator communities are influenced to varying degrees by prey distribution and environmental gradients. We examined physical and biological attributes of an estuarine fjord with strong glacier influence to determine the factors that most influence the structure of predator and prey communities. Our results suggest that some species, such as walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), and glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens), were widely distributed across environmental gradients, indicating less specialization, whereas species such as capelin (Mallotus villosus), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), and Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) appeared to have more specialized habitat requirements related to glacial influence. We found that upper trophic level communities were well correlated with their mid trophic level prey community, but strong physical gradients in photic depth, temperature, and nutrients played an important role in community structure as well. Mid-trophic level forage fish communities were correlated with the physical gradients more closely than upper trophic levels were, and they showed strong affinity to tidewater glaciers. Silica was closely correlated with the distribution of fish communities, the mechanisms of which deserve further study.

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Taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity in headwater stream fish communities of the Paraná and Paraguai River basins

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/1982-0224-2020-0126 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gabriel Nakamura ◽

Wagner Vicentin ◽

Yzel Rondon Súarez

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Beta Diversity ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Fish Communities ◽

River Basins ◽

Water Velocity ◽

Headwater Stream ◽

Stream Fish ◽

Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽

Species Sorting

ABSTRACT Patterns of species replacement and richness differences along environmental gradients or ecoregions shed light on different ecological and evolutionary mechanisms acting on community structure. Communities of aquatic ecosystems of different watersheds are supposed to host distinct species and lineages. Quantifying and understanding the degree to which these differences are affected by environmental and biogeographical factors remains an open question for these environments, particularly in the Neotropical region. We investigated patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic composition of headwater streams of the Paraná and Paraguai River basins to understand how local and biogeographical factors affect the assembly of fish communities. We also quantified taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity by decomposing them into nestedness and turnover components. We found that local environmental factors are the main factors influencing the composition of stream fish communities. Whereas pH affected both taxonomic and phylogenetic turnover, water velocity was responsible for phylogenetic turnover and pH was the main driver of phylogenetic nestedness. Our results indicate an effect of local environmental factors in determining the structure of headwater stream fish communities through a combination of a species sorting mechanism (water velocity and pH) and phylogenetic habitat filtering (pH).

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