Cross–Cordillera exchange mediated by the Panama Canal increased the species richness of local freshwater fish assemblages

Fish assemblages were sampled in 195 randomly selected lakes in the northeastern United States during the summers of 1991-1994. Most lakes in northern Maine had three to seven minnow species, constituting 40-80% of species in each lake. Lakes in New Jersey, southern New York, and southern New England rarely had minnows, other than golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas). Lakes in the Adirondacks and the remainder of northern New England had intermediate numbers. We examined minnow native ranges and autecology and evaluated species richness related to littoral predators and human disturbance. Sample data suggested alteration in the minnow assemblages over much of the region. The most consistent factor related to minnow species richness was the presence of littoral predators. Median number of minnow species was two in lakes lacking predators and zero in lakes with predators. Non-native predators, especially Micropterus spp., have been introduced throughout the Northeast; 69% of the sampled lakes had non-native predators. In the absence of predators, minnow species declined with increased human activity in the watershed and along lake shorelines. Only in northern Maine did lake minnow assemblages seem relatively intact.

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Performance of a pool-and-weir fish pass for small bottom-dwelling freshwater fish species in a regulated lowland river

Animal Biology ◽

10.1163/157075607782232134 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 423-432 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Evelien Maerten ◽

Marcel Eens ◽

Guy Knaepkens

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Fish ◽

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Regulated River ◽

Lowland River ◽

Stone Loach ◽

Spined Loach ◽

Freshwater Fish Species ◽

Cottus Gobio ◽

Fish Pass

AbstractAlthough small benthic freshwater fish species are an important biological component of fish assemblages and free instream movement is indispensable for their survival, they are often neglected in fish pass performance studies. In this study, a capture-mark-recapture approach was used to assess whether small bottom-dwelling species, including gudgeon (Gobio gobio), stone loach (Barbatula barbatula), spined loach (Cobitis taenia) and bullhead (Cottus gobio), were able to cross a pool-and-weir fish pass in a regulated lowland river. Some tagged individuals of stone loach (18%), gudgeon (7%) and spined loach (2%) managed to successfully ascend the fish pass under study, despite the fact that water velocity levels in the different overflows of the facility (between 0.55-1.22 m/s) exceeded the critical swimming speed of all three species. Although this suggests that a pool-and-weir fish pass is a able to facilitate upstream movement of some small benthic species in a regulated river, more detailed research incorporating advanced tagging and retrieving techniques is necessary.

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Testing hypotheses of diversification in Panamanian frogs and freshwater fishes using hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation with model averaging

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26623 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Justin C Bagley ◽

Michael J Hickerson ◽

Jerald B Johnson

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Fish ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Approximate Bayesian Computation ◽

Bayes Factor ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Model Averaging ◽

External Information ◽

Bayesian Computation ◽

Genetic Structuring ◽

Approximate Bayesian

Most Neotropical frog and freshwater fish species sampled to date show phylogeographic breaks along the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama, with lineages in Costa Rica and western Panama isolated from central Panama. We examine temporal patterns of diversification of taxa across this ‘western Panama isthmus’ (WPI) break to test hypotheses about the origin of species geographical distributions and genetic structuring in this region. We tested for synchronous diversification of four codistributed frog taxon-pairs and three fish taxon-pairs sharing the WPI break using hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation with model averaging based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. We also estimated lineage divergence times using full-Bayesian models. Several of our results supported synchronous divergences within the frog and freshwater fish assemblages; however, Bayes factor support was equivocal for or against synchronous or asynchronous diversification. Nevertheless, we infer that frog populations were likely isolated by one or multiple Pliocene–Pleistocene events more recently than predicted by previous models, while fish genetic diversity was structured by Pleistocene events. By integrating our results with external information from geology and elevational sea level modeling, we discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the biogeographical scenario of the diversification of Panamanian frogs and fishes. Consistent with the ‘Bermingham/Martin model’ (Mol. Ecol. 1998, 7: 499-517), we conclude that the regional fish assemblage was fractured by processes shaping isthmian landscapes during the Pleistocene glaciations, including drainage basin isolation during lowered sea levels.

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How does the taxonomic status of allopatric populations influence species richness within African cichlid fish assemblages?

Journal of Biogeography ◽

10.1046/j.0305-0270.2003.00986.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 93-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Martin J. Genner ◽

Ole Seehausen ◽

Daniel F.R. Cleary ◽

Mairi E. Knight ◽

Ellinor Michel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Cichlid Fish ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

African Cichlid ◽

Allopatric Populations

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Relation between species richness and stream slope in riffle fish assemblages is dependent on spatial scale

Environmental Biology of Fishes ◽

10.1007/s10641-016-0502-0 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 99 (8-9) ◽

pp. 603-612 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mateus Camana ◽

Renato Bolson Dala-Corte ◽

Fernando Gertum Becker

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Spatial Scale ◽

Fish Assemblages

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Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems

Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems ◽

10.47886/9781888569735.ch21 ◽

2005 ◽

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Fish Species ◽

Endemic Species ◽

Largemouth Bass ◽

Fish Assemblage ◽

Life Histories ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Habitat Alterations ◽

Intensity Index ◽

Specialist Species

Abstract.—We examined fish assemblage responses to urban intensity gradients in two contrasting metropolitan areas: Birmingham, Alabama (BIR) and Boston, Massachusetts (BOS). Urbanization was quantified by using an urban intensity index (UII) that included multiple stream buffers and basin land uses, human population density, and road density variables. We evaluated fish assemblage responses by using species richness metrics and detrended correspondence analyses (DCA). Fish species richness metrics included total fish species richness, and percentages of endemic species richness, alien species, and fluvial specialist species. Fish species richness decreased significantly with increasing urbanization in BIR (r = –0.82, P = 0.001) and BOS (r = –0.48, P = 0.008). Percentages of endemic species richness decreased significantly with increasing urbanization only in BIR (r = – 0.71, P = 0.001), whereas percentages of fluvial specialist species decreased significantly with increasing urbanization only in BOS (r = –0.56, P = 0.002). Our DCA results for BIR indicate that highly urbanized fish assemblages are composed primarily of largescale stoneroller Campostoma oligolepis, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, and creek chub Semotilus atromaculatus, whereas the highly urbanized fish assemblages in BOS are dominated by yellow perch Perca flavescens, bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, yellow bullhead Ameiurus natalis, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed L. gibbosus, brown bullhead A. nebulosus, and redfin pickerel Esox americanus. Differences in fish assemblage responses to urbanization between the two areas appear to be related to differences in nutrient enrichment, habitat alterations, and invasive species. Because species richness can increase or decrease with increasing urbanization, a general response model is not applicable. Instead, response models based on species’ life histories, behavior, and autecologies offer greater potential for understanding fish assemblage responses to urbanization.

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Freshwater, Fish and the Future: Proceedings of the Global Cross-Sectoral Conference

Freshwater, Fish and the Future: Proceedings of the Global Cross-Sectoral Conference ◽

10.47886/9789251092637.ch20 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Puerto Rico ◽

Freshwater Fish ◽

Water Use ◽

Large Scale ◽

River Flow ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Physical Habitat ◽

Resource Exploitation ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Tropical Island

Abstract. —Freshwater tropical island environments support a variety of fishes that provide cultural, economic, and ecological services for humans but receive limited scientific, conservation, and public attention. Puerto Rico is a Caribbean tropical island that may serve as a model to illustrate the interactions between humans and natural resources in such complex ecosystems. The native freshwater fish assemblage of Puerto Rico is distinct from mainland assemblages in that the assemblage is not diverse, all species are diadromous, and they may be exploited at multiple life stages (e.g., postlarva, juvenile, adult). Primary large-scale drivers of recent water-use policy include economic growth, human population density, and urbanization, with climate change as an overarching influence. Watershed and riparian land use, water quality, river flow and instream physical habitat, river habitat connectivity, exotic species, and aquatic resource exploitation are important proximate factors affecting the ecosystem and fisheries. Research on ecological processes and components of the stream and river fish assemblages has expanded the knowledge base in the past decade with the goal of providing critical information for guiding the conservation and management of the lotic resource to optimize ecosystem function and services. The greatest challenge facing Caribbean island society is developing policies that balance the needs for human water use and associated activities with maintaining aquatic biodiversity, ecological integrity and services, and sustainable fisheries. Achieving this goal will require broad cooperation and sustained commitment among public officials, agency administrators, biologists, and the public toward effective resource management.

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Seascape context modifies how fish respond to restored oyster reef structures

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsz019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 76 (4) ◽

pp. 1131-1139 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ben L Gilby ◽

Andrew D Olds ◽

Christopher J Henderson ◽

Nicholas L Ortodossi ◽

Rod M Connolly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Oyster Reef ◽

Pivotal Role ◽

Oyster Reefs ◽

Total Abundance ◽

Fish Recruitment ◽

Abundance And Diversity ◽

Species Specific

Abstract The seascape context of coastal ecosystems plays a pivotal role in shaping patterns in fish recruitment, abundance, and diversity. It might also be a principal determinant in structuring the recruitment of fish assemblages to restored habitats, but the trajectories of these relationships require further testing. In this study, we surveyed fish assemblages from 14 restored oyster reefs and 14 control sites in the Noosa River, Queensland, Australia, that differed in the presence or absence of seagrass within 500 m, over four periods using baited cameras. Fish assemblages at oyster reefs differed from those at control sites, with higher species richness (1.4 times) and more individuals of taxa that are harvested by fishers (1.8 times). The presence or absence of seagrass nearby affected the abundance of a key harvestable fish species (yellowfin bream Acanthopagrus australis) on oyster reefs, but not the overall composition of fish assemblages, species richness, or the total abundance of harvestable fishes overall. These findings highlight the importance of considering species-specific patterns in seascape utilization when selecting restoration sites and setting restoration goals, and suggest that the effects of restoration on fish assemblages might be optimized by focusing efforts in prime positions in coastal seascapes.

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Influence of some physico-chemical variables on wild fish richness beneath sea-cage fish farms in the Aegean Sea, Turkey

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315420001034 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 100 (7) ◽

pp. 1171-1179

Author(s):

Okan Akyol ◽

Aytaç Özgül ◽

F. Ozan Düzbastılar ◽

Halil Şen ◽

José M. Ortiz de Urbina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Wild Fish ◽

Light Transmittance ◽

Fish Farms ◽

Physico Chemical ◽

Sea Cage ◽

The Relationship ◽

Cage Fish

AbstractThis study aims to determine the relationship between physico-chemical variables on a seasonal basis and wild fish assemblages beneath sea-cage fish farms. Assemblages of wild fish were counted monthly on two separate days at each of six fish farms between August 2015 and July 2017, by six rapid visual counts (RVC) in 5 minutes with scuba by two divers. Seawater samples were simultaneously taken by a Nansen bottle during the RVC from the fish farm barge. SST (°C), salinity (ppm), dissolved oxygen (mg l−1) and pH were measured by YSI multiparameter, while Secchi disk was also used for light transmittance. Wild fish species richness went up with increasing temperature and salinity in the Izmir region, however, this stopped at about 26°C and about 39 ppm. Wild fish richness increased when the DO was at a level of 7 mg l−1 and the pH at about 7.9 in Izmir. Between 10 and 20 m, light transmittance showed greater wild fish species richness in Izmir region. In contrast, the wild fish species richness of the Muğla region fluctuated more. In terms of wild fish species richness, these fluctuations increased with salinity and DO, while they decreased with SST, pH and light transmittance. However, the range of variation of the recorded physico-chemical variables is rather narrow. The results of the correlation matrix indicate that the relationship between wild fish species richness and pH and SST was statistically significant in Izmir region (P < 0.05).

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