scholarly journals The importance of metacommunity processes for long-term turnover of riffle-dwelling fish assemblages depends on spatial position within a dendritic network

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Bolson Dala-Corte ◽  
Fernando Gertum Becker ◽  
Adriano Sanches Melo

Spatial position within a dendritic network may determine environmental filters and connectivity with source of immigrants, influencing species composition and variation in metacommunities. We investigated how long-term turnover of riffle-dwelling fish assemblages is affected by niche- and dispersal-related processes. Multiple linear model selection resulted in four variables important to explain assemblage turnover: (i) habitat change, (ii) channel slope, (iii) dlink (a proxy for connectivity), and (iv) catchment area. These four variables were related to turnover in species abundance, while turnover in species occurrence was only related to habitat change. Models generated for each species indicated they were differently affected by niche- and dispersal-related processes. Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that metacommunity processes affecting temporal turnover of stream fish communities are dependent on the spatial position within a dendritic network, but also vary among species. Our study has implications for sampling design in monitoring programs, as the degree of dissimilarities in fish communities depends not only on local habitat change, but on spatial position within the drainage network and on species particularities.

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_P) ◽  
pp. P56-P59
Author(s):  
Nick E J West ◽  
Wai-Fung Cheong ◽  
Els Boone ◽  
Neil E Moat

Abstract The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented change throughout society.1 As the articles in this supplement outline, all segments of the broader cardiovascular community have been forced to adapt, to change models of care delivery, and to evolve and innovate in order to deliver optimal management for cardiovascular patients. The medtech/device industry has not been exempt from such change and has been forced to navigate direct and indirect COVID-associated disruption, with effects felt from supply chain logistics to the entire product lifecycle, from the running of clinical trials to new device approvals and managing training, proctoring and congresses in an increasingly-online world. This sea-change in circumstances itself has enforced the industry, in effect, to disrupt its own processes, models and activities. Whilst some of these changes may be temporary, many will endure for some time and some will doubtless become permanent; one thing is for sure: the healthcare ecosystem, including the medical device industry, will never look quite the same again. Although the pandemic has brought a short- to medium-term medical crisis to many countries, its role as a powerful disruptor cannot be underestimated, and may indeed prove to be a force for long-term good, given the accelerated innovation and rapid adaptation that it has cultivated.


Author(s):  
Joannes W. Renes ◽  
Dominique F. Maciejewski ◽  
Eline J. Regeer ◽  
Adriaan W. Hoogendoorn ◽  
Willem A. Nolen ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Kai Chen ◽  
Chia-Yi Pan ◽  
Yi-Chen Wang ◽  
Hsiu-Ju Tseng ◽  
Bo-Kun Su ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this study, the interannual variations of ichthyoplankton assemblages in the Taiwan Strait (TS) during the winters of 2007–2013 were determined. The cold China Coastal Current (CCC) and Mixed China Coastal Water (MCCW) intruded into the TS and impinged with the warm Kuroshio Branch Current (KBC) with annual variations. Consequently, the ichthyoplankton community in the TS was mainly structured into two assemblages characterized by differing environmental conditions. The composition of the warm KBC assemblage was relatively stable and was characterized by Diaphus B and Bregmaceros spp. By contrast, the cold MCCW assemblage demonstrated considerable variations over the years, with demersal Gobiidae and Scorpaenidae families considered the most representative. In addition, Benthosema pterotum and Trichiurus spp. were common in both KBC and MCCW assemblages. The distribution of the KBC assemblage demonstrated sharp boundaries in the frontal zones, whereas changes in the assemblage structure between the frontal zones were gradual for the MCCW assemblage, particularly when demersal taxa were dominant. Sea surface temperature and salinity were most strongly associated with variability in the assemblage structure during the study period. Thus, this paper provides a better understanding of long-term larval fish dynamics during winter in the TS.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco S. Álvarez ◽  
Wilfredo A. Matamoros ◽  
Francisco A. Chicas

ABSTRACT The ichthyofauna of the Río Acahuapa was analyzed sampling 17 sites that included the basin main channel and its tributaries. Fish were collected using dip-nets, seine-nets and electrofishing. Fish standard length and species abundance were recorded. Species origin and salinity tolerance criteria were used to classify fish species. Water physicochemical variables, habitat structure and sampling sites elevation were recorded. A total of 33 fish species were registered, 12.1% are primary, 45.5% are secondary and 42.4% are of marine derivation. Fish species richness declined with increase of elevation (R2=0.55, p=0.0006). Two assemblages of fishes were identified: the first one associated to sites of low elevations (19-184 masl), composed mainly of secondary and marine-estuarine fish species related with high temperature, water velocity, river width, dissolved oxygen and low sand and silt substrate cover; the second one associated to sites of middle and higher elevations (185-519 masl), composed by primary and secondary freshwater fishes related with high pH, logs and rocks substrate cover. In summary, elevation and environmental variables contributed to the composition and distribution of fish in the Río Acahuapa.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres F Ramirez-Mejia ◽  
Nicolas Urbina-Cardona ◽  
Francisco Sanchez

Land-use intensification imposes selective pressures that systematically change the frequency of wild population phenotypes. Growing evidence is biased towards the comparison of populations from discrete categories of land uses, ignoring the role of landscape emerging properties on the phenotype selection of wild fauna. Across the largest urban-rural gradient of the Colombian Orinoquia, we measured ecomorphological traits of 216 individuals of the Flat-faced Fruit-eating Bat Artibeus planirostris, to evaluate the scale of effect at which landscape transformation better predicts changes in phenotype and abundance of an urban-tolerant species. Forest percentage at 1.25 km was the main predictor affecting abundance, wing aspect ratio, and body mass of this phyllostomid; but the direction of the effect differed between abundance and ecomorphological traits. Although landscape factors explained changes in the forearm length at all spatial scales, the effect was sex-dependent and the most important predictor was forest percentage at 0.5 km. Our results indicate that landscape elements and spatial scale interact to shape ecomorphological traits and the abundance of A. planirostris. Interestingly, the scale of effect was congruent among all biological responses. A pattern that likely arises since species' abundance can reflect the variation on phenotype under different environmental filters across landscape scenarios.


Author(s):  
Jean Beguinot

Even when ecological communities are incompletely sampled (which is most frequent in practice, at least for species-rich assemblages including many rare species), it remains possible to retrieve much more information than could be expected first, by applying numerical extrapolation to incomplete field data. Indeed, recently developed procedures of numerical extrapolation of partial samplings now allow to estimate, with fair accuracy, not only the number of the still unrecorded species but, moreover, the distribution of abundances of each of these unrecorded species, thereby making available the full range of the Species Abundance Distribution, despite dealing with incomplete data only. In turn, this allows to address a series of descriptive and functional aspects of the internal organization of species assemblages, which otherwise would have required disposing of truly exhaustive samplings. This approach is applied, here, to the previously reported partial samplings of six neighboring reef-fish communities from Tiran Island, Red Sea, with the goal of better understanding their internal organization in relation to their respective environments. In practice, the numerical completion contributes to avoid erroneous interpretations that would likely stem from considering only the incomplete field data. This point is especially relevant when studying reef-associated communities because accurate understanding of their organization will help guiding and refining at best the protective measures required by these particularly vulnerable communities.


<em>Abstract.</em>—We analyzed data from 38 sites on 31 large rivers in Wisconsin to characterize the influence of environmental variables at the basin, reach, and site scales on fish assemblages. Electrofishing and site habitat data were collected for a distance of 1.6 km per site. Environmental variables included conductivity, substrate, and fish cover at the site scale; distance to impoundments, dams, and length of riverine habitat at the reach scale; and land cover, climate, and geology at the basin scale. Of the 77 fish species found, 39 occurred in more than 10% of the sites and were retained for analyses of fish abundance and biomass. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to relate species abundance, biomass, and 16 assemblage metrics to environmental variables at the three spatial scales. The site and basin scales defined fishes along a gradient from high conductivity, fine substrate, and agricultural land cover to low conductivity, rocky substrate, and forested land cover. For abundance and biomass, the strongest assemblage pattern contrasted northern hog sucker <em>Hypentelium nigricans</em>, blackside darter <em>Percina maculata</em>, and logperch <em>P. caprodes </em>with common carp <em>Cyprinus carpio</em>, channel catfish <em>Ictalurus punctatus</em>, and sauger <em>Sander canadensis</em>. The <em>H. nigricans </em>group, along with high values of index of biotic integrity and some assemblage metrics (percent lithophilic spawners, percent round-bodied suckers), corresponded with the forested end of the ecological gradient, whereas the <em>C. carpio </em>group and percent anomalies corresponded with the agricultural end. Natural environmental conditions, including bedrock geology type, bedrock depth, surficial geology texture, basin area, and precipitation, also influenced the fish assemblage. Partial RDA procedures partitioned the explained variation among spatial scales and their interactions. We found that widespread land cover alterations at the basin scale were most strongly related to fish assemblages across our study area. Understanding the influence of environmental variables among multiple spatial scales on fish assemblages can improve our ability to assess the ecological condition of large river systems and subsequently target the appropriate scale for management or restoration efforts.


Koedoe ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I.A. Russell

Fish assemblages were sampled at nine sites in the lower Vaal River in the Vaalbos National Park and adjacent properties. A total of 1543 fish from 10 species was recorded. Ordination revealed spatial variation in assemblage structure, with the distinction primarily between communities in rapids and deep pools. Flow velocity, depth and percentage cover were important determinants offish assemblage structure. The length frequency distribution of abundant species indicated successful recruitment. Several differences in the species compliment compared to earlier studies were evident, including high abundance of Barbus paludinosus and Austro^lanis sclateri, and the absence of Barbus anoplus. The length-mass relationships of large cyprmids indicated long-term declines in the physical condition of fish.


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