Fish complementarity is associated to forests in Amazonian streams

The functional structure of communities is commonly measured by the variability in functional traits, which may demonstrate complementarity or redundancy patterns. In this study, we tested the influence of environmental variables on the functional structure of fish assemblages in Amazonian streams within a deforestation gradient. We calculated six ecomorphological traits related to habitat use from each fish species, and used them to calculate the net relatedness index (NRI) and the nearest taxon index (NTI). The set of species that used the habitat differently (complementary or overdispersed assemblages) occurred in sites with a greater proportion of forests. The set of species that used the habitat in a similar way (redundant or clustered assemblages) occurred in sites with a greater proportion of grasses in the stream banks. Therefore, the deforestation of entire watersheds, which has occurred in many Amazonian regions, may be a central factor for the functional homogenization of fish fauna.

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Influence of environmental variables on stream fish fauna at multiple spatial scales

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/1982-0224-20150116 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Nara Tadini Junqueira ◽

Diego Rodrigues Macedo ◽

Rafael Couto Rosa de Souza ◽

Robert Mason Hughes ◽

Marcos Callisto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

River Basin ◽

Fish Species ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Stream Fish ◽

Fish Diversity ◽

Physical Habitat

ABSTRACT Effects of environmental variables at different spatial scales on freshwater fish assemblages are relatively unexplored in Neotropical ecosystems. However, those influences are important for developing management strategies to conserve fish diversity and water resources. We evaluated the influences of site- (in-stream) and catchment-scale (land use and cover) environmental variables on the abundance and occurrence of fish species in streams of the Upper Araguari River basin through use of variance partitioning with partial CCA. We sampled 38 1st to 3rd order stream sites in September 2009. We quantified site variables to calculate 11 physical habitat metrics and mapped catchment land use/cover. Site and catchment variables explained > 50% of the total variation in fish species. Site variables (fish abundance: 25.31%; occurrence: 24.51%) explained slightly more variation in fish species than catchment land use/cover (abundance: 22.69%; occurrence: 18.90%), indicating that factors at both scales are important. Because anthropogenic pressures at site and catchment scales both affect stream fish in the Upper Araguari River basin, both must be considered jointly to apply conservation strategies in an efficient manner.

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Historical Changes in Large River Fish Assemblages of the Americas

Historical Changes in Large River Fish Assemblages of the Americas ◽

10.47886/9781888569728.ch28 ◽

2005 ◽

Keyword(s):

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Sewage Treatment ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Large River ◽

Water Volume ◽

Mean Width ◽

Minas Gerais State ◽

The World ◽

Annual Discharge

Abstract.—The Rio das Velhas is a tributary of the Rio São Francisco, one of Brazil’s largest rivers. It is the Rio São Francisco’s second most important tributary in water volume (mean annual discharge of 631 m3/s), with a drainage area of 27,867 km2, length of 761 km, and mean width of 38 m. Like many other rivers around the world, it became heavily polluted in the 1900s. The Rio das Velhas is the most polluted river of Minas Gerais state because the basin contains approximately 4.5 million people. Unlike other Brazilian rivers, its fish fauna was studied from 1850 to 1856. Fifty-five fish species were recorded; 20 of them were first described at that time, when there were previously no more than 40 known species in the entire São Francisco basin. Recent fish collections, approximately 150 years later, indicate 107 fish species, but some may be locally extinct. There are good prospects of rehabilitating this fauna because of the connectivity of the Rio das Velhas with the São Francisco main stem, its well-preserved tributaries, and increased investments in sewage treatment.

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Status of Endemic Freshwater Fish Fauna Inhabiting Major Lakes of Turkey under the Threats of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Disturbances: A Review

Water ◽

10.3390/w13111534 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 1534

Author(s):

Daniela Giannetto ◽

Deniz Innal

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Fish ◽

Fish Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Current Status ◽

Global Issue ◽

Freshwater Fish Fauna ◽

Endemic Fish

Due to its peculiar geographical position and its environmental heterogeneity, Turkey represents an important biodiversity hotspot for freshwater fish fauna. Unfortunately, native fish communities of Turkey, mainly from lentic ecosystems, have been massively altered in the past decades. Furthermore, these species, especially the endemic species, are now threatened by several human activities in addition to the global issue of climatic changes. The aim of this paper is to provide an updated review on the current status of endemic fish species from main lakes of Turkey including major threats affecting fish assemblages. By gathering data from the literature and authors’ personal observations, 62 endemic fish species were reported to occur in the considered 37 Turkish Lakes. The presence of non-native species, agriculture activities, climatic drought, and decreasing water level were found to be the threats that most affect the fish communities of the considered Turkish Lakes.

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Modeling and mapping fish abundance across wadeable streams of Illinois, USA, based on landscape-level environmental variables

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2015-0343 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 73 (7) ◽

pp. 1031-1046 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Yong Cao ◽

Leon Hinz ◽

Brian Metzke ◽

Jeffrey Stein ◽

Ann Holtrop

Keyword(s):

Fish Species ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Common Species ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Soil Permeability ◽

Distribution Maps ◽

Wadeable Streams ◽

Stream Fish Assemblages ◽

Landscape Level

To effectively conserve and restore stream ecosystems, we need to better understand the distribution and abundance of individual fish species in relation to natural environments and anthropological stressors. In this study, we modeled the abundance of 97 fish species in small wadeable streams of Illinois, USA, based on random forests regression and landscape-level environmental variables. Model R2 values for intermediately common species were higher than for common species, but highly variable among rare ones. Models for 50 species reached R2 of 0.2–0.70 and were tested with a separate set of samples and applied to unsampled wadeable reaches to show the population hotspots of each species across the state. Furthermore, we evaluated the importance of individual environmental variables to a given fish species as well as the directional responses of each species to top 10 key predictors. Climate and land use were the best predictors for most species, followed by topography, geology, and soil permeability. Spatial connection of a stream also was associated with a large number of species. These findings improved our understanding of the relationships between fish species and landscape environments. The distribution maps could guide resource management, restoration, and monitoring of stream fish assemblages.

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The influence of environmental variables on the functional structure of headwater stream fish assemblages: a study of two tropical basins in Central Brazil

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/1982-0224-20130148 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 349-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Rodrigo Assis Carvalho ◽

Francisco Leonardo Tejerina-Garro

Keyword(s):

Fish Species ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Headwater Stream ◽

Stream Fish ◽

Tropical Region ◽

Dissimilarity Matrix ◽

Species Trait ◽

Stream Fish Assemblages

We investigated functional patterns of fish assemblages of two adjacent basins (Araguaia and Tocantins) to test whether their headwater stream fish assemblages are more functionally (dis)similar than expected by chance and whether these (dis)similarities are related to differences of environmental conditions between basins. We used an analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) on a functional dissimilarity matrix to test for (dis)similarities between fish assemblages of both basins. We performed RLQ and fourth-corner analyses to determine fish species trait-environment relationship. Our results revealed functional dissimilarities between fish assemblages of both basins and significant species trait-environment relationships, suggesting that environmental conditions are driving such dissimilarities. Inter-basin dissimilarities are mainly driven by altitudinal and water temperature gradients, whereas dissimilarities among streams within the basins are influenced by channel depth, turbidity and conductivity. These five environmental variables mostly affected six fish species traits (body mass, water column position, substrate preference, parental care, foraging locality and migration) in different manners. This study is an attempt to understand functional trends of fish assemblages in a tropical region that remains poorly known but severely threatened.

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Composición taxonómica y abundancia espacio-temporal de la ictiofauna del Río Presidio, Sinaloa, México

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v66i2.33418 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 66 (2) ◽

pp. 848 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sergio Sánchez-Gonzáles ◽

Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos ◽

Alejandro Herrrera-Flores ◽

María de Lourdes Lozano-Vilano ◽

Adrián F. González-Acosta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Neotropical Region ◽

Taxonomic Composition ◽

Middle Part ◽

Freshwater Species ◽

Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽

Rainy Period ◽

Temporal Abundance

Taxonomic composition and spatio-temporal abundance of the ichthyofauna in Presidio River, Sinaloa, Mexico. The Rio Presidio in the southern Sinaloa, Mexico belongs to Nearctic-Neotropical zoogeographical transition zone, where its fish fauna could manifest changes in the abundance and distribution of the species during rainy and dry periods. The main objective of this study was to describe the taxonomic composition and spatial and temporal abundance of the fish fauna from the lower and middle Rio Presidio, by means of bimonthly samplings from April 2008 to February 2009. Forty fish species (39 native and 1 exotic) belonging to 32 genera and 19 families were registered. Two families (Gerreidae and Poeciliidae) contained the highest numbers of species (five and four, respectively). Six species (Lile stolifera, Oreochromis aureus, Awaous banana, Anchoa analis, Gobiomorus maculatus and Atherinella crystallina) in this order of importance contributed with almost 49 % of the total fish abundance. Species richness and salinity showed a direct relationship and an inverse relationship with the altitude. Based on the coefficient of similarity of species among sites two fish assemblages were identified. The first assemblage formed by species from marine derivation (peripheral) occurring in the lower part of the river, and the second assemblage by secondary freshwater species in the middle part. The higher fish species similarity observed in August and September was under the influence of the highest flows of the rainy period. Twenty-seven 27 species showed affinity to the Tropical Eastern Pacific Region, six species to the Neotropical region and two to the Nearctic region (Dorosoma smithi and Ictalurus cf. pricei ); one species has an Amphiatlantic distribution (Mugil curema), another is circumtropical (Mugil cephalus), two species have Amphiamerican distribution (A. monticola and G. cinereus), and one is exotic (O. aureus). Rev. Biol. Trop. 66(2): 848-862. Epub 2018 June 01.

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The ongoing invasion of translocated sleepy cod (Oxyeleotris lineolata) in the Lake Eyre Basin, central Australia

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr17140 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 164

Author(s):

David Sternberg ◽

Bernie Cockayne

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Length Distribution ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Native Fish ◽

High Fecundity ◽

Fish Samples ◽

History Information ◽

Central Australia

Context Present-day distribution records show that Oxyeleotris lineolata (sleepy cod) has colonised many ephemeral streams and refugial waterholes of the Cooper Creek catchment in the Lake Eyre Basin within a decade of the first record or capture. When introduced to new habitats outside its natural range, this species is considered to be a serious conservation risk to native fish species. Aims The present study aims to document the transport, establishment, colonisation and integration of O. lineolata in the Lake Eyre Basin, and quantify its impact on native fish assemblages. Methods Fish samples were taken annually in 21 waterholes between 2011 and 2016, by using a combination of single- and double-winged fyke nets. We collected novel diet and life-history information from 242 O. lineolata individuals across their known distribution. Key results Abundance, length distribution and life-history information suggested a ‘colonising front’ moving downstream, across state jurisdictional boundaries and into the Coongie Lakes Ramsar site. Oxyeleotris lineolata diet is most similar to that of two native generalist invertivore–piscivores and preys on several native fish species. With a derived longevity in excess of 15 years and a life-history strategy that combines batch spawning, high fecundity and parental care (i.e. high juvenile survivorship), there is real potential for O. lineolata to dominate fish assemblages in waterholes that provide refuge for native fishes during dry periods. Conclusions The present study showed that O. lineolata has the potential to negatively influence native fish assemblages through both competition and predation in refugial waterholes. Eradication of O. lineolata from the Cooper Creek catchment in central Australia is highly unlikely, given its widespread distribution, the remoteness of the receiving landscape and a current lack of resources to monitor spread and attempt eradication at the moving front of the Cooper Creek population. Implications Achieving greater awareness of the potential impacts of introducing or spreading non-native species is an important first step towards preserving the native fish fauna of the Lake Eyre Basin. Further research is warranted to fully understand the current and potential future distribution of O. lineolata in the basin, its biological and ecological requirements, and influence on native fish species and assemblages.

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Patterns in fish species composition and assemblage structure in the upper Salado River lakes, Pampa Plain, Argentina

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/s1679-62252010005000007 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 135-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Juan José Rosso ◽

Rolando Quirós

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Water Conductivity ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Pampa Plain ◽

Salado River

The Pampa Plain, in the central region of Argentina, is mostly drained by the Salado River. The fish fauna of this river is mostly known from field collections in lower reach lakes. Consequently, we aimed to explore the composition and structure of the fish assemblages in the upper Salado River lakes. Patterns in dominance and persistence of species and assemblage level attributes were correlated with environmental and human activity-derived (NO3:NH4) variables. Overall, 19,913 individuals of 17 species included in 5 orders and 11 families were collected. Several species are first records for the upper Salado River lakes. There was a marked proliferation of species in the family Characidae. Conversely, the remainder 10 families were only represented by one or two species. The species composition along the study lakes changed slightly but their relative contribution to the total fish collected (dominance) varied greatly. Rather few species were present in all collections suggesting an important interannual variability in assemblage stability. The gradient in water conductivity was an important factor for the persistence of particular species in the lakes. The gradients in water conductivity and NO3:NH4 ratio were associated with particular fish communities dominated by different groups of species. These results suggest that even when broad management and conservation strategies should encompass the system as a whole, lake-specific approaches must also be addressed. Overall, our results highlight that human impacts on surface waters may interact with environmental factors to influence the dynamics of fish species and the structure of their communities.

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Spawning phenology and habitat use in a Great Plains, USA, stream fish assemblage: an occupancy estimation approach

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f10-109 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 67 (12) ◽

pp. 1942-1956 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Jeffrey A. Falke ◽

Kurt D. Fausch ◽

Kevin R. Bestgen ◽

Larissa L. Bailey

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Great Plains ◽

Fish Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Fish Larvae ◽

Estimation Methods ◽

Stream Fish ◽

Stream Fishes ◽

Occupancy Estimation ◽

Multiple Samples

Knowledge of basic life-history attributes, paired with unbiased estimates of species distribution, is critical for the effective conservation of sensitive fish species. We quantified the spawning phenology, habitat use, and detectability for larvae of an assemblage of threatened Great Plains, USA, stream fishes using new occupancy estimation methods. Spawning by six Great Plains fish species occurred from April through July, and was likely initiated by changes in water temperature and photoperiod. Habitat size and type were important factors influencing the occupancy of larvae in spawning habitats. Detectability of larvae differed among species and over time, and was influenced by habitat depth and fish size. Our models indicated that multiple samples from individual habitats within a season are needed to adequately detect and predict occupancy by stream fish larvae. Conservation efforts for imperiled Great Plains fish assemblages should focus on sustaining flows that maintain a sufficient density and size of habitats needed for successful spawning and recruitment. The occupancy estimation and modeling methods employed here will be useful in developing comprehensive, unbiased programs to monitor the reproductive success of Great Plains stream fishes.

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Advancing improvement in riverine water quality caused a non-native fish species invasion and native fish fauna recovery

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93751-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Łukasz Głowacki ◽

Andrzej Kruk ◽

Tadeusz Penczak

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Fish Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Interference Competition ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Species Traits ◽

Native Fish ◽

Biological Degradation ◽

Species Invasion ◽

Prussian Carp

AbstractThe knowledge of biotic and abiotic drivers that put non-native invasive fishes at a disadvantage to native ones is necessary for suppressing invasions, but the knowledge is scarce, particularly when abiotic changes are fast. In this study, we increased this knowledge by an analysis of the biomass of most harmful Prussian carp Carassius gibelio in a river reviving from biological degradation. The species' invasion followed by the invasion's reversal occurred over only two decades and were documented by frequent monitoring of fish biomass and water quality. An initial moderate improvement in water quality was an environmental filter that enabled Prussian carp’s invasion but prevented the expansion of other species. A later substantial improvement stimulated native species’ colonization of the river, and made one rheophil, ide Leuciscus idus, a significant Prussian carp’s replacer. The redundancy analysis (RDA) of the dependence of changes in the biomass of fish species on water quality factors indicated that Prussian carp and ide responded in a significantly opposite way to changes in water quality in the river over the study period. However, the dependence of Prussian carp biomass on ide biomass, as indicated by regression analysis and analysis of species traits, suggests that the ecomorphological similarity of both species might have produced interference competition that contributed to Prussian carp’s decline.

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