Partition among niche and neutral explanations for metacommunity patterns of fish from Cerrado streams

The Species-Sorting concept, one of the models developed to explain patterns in metacommunity structure, suggests that relationships between biological communities and environmental conditions is the basic means of the species selection processes. A second concept is Neutral Theory, and the idea of neutral dynamics underpinning metacommunity structure, cannot be overlooked. The third mechanism is the Mass-Effect concept, that focuses on the interaction between environmental condition and neutral effects. In the present study, we partitioned fish communities in streams between niche and neutral theory concepts, identifying the best representation of metacommunity structure, and assessed if linear and hydrographic distance were equivalent in the representation of neutral processes. The result points to the importance of species sorting mechanisms in structuring fish communities with neutral processes best represented by the linear distances. These results are important for the fish fauna conservation leading to three considerations: (i) the variation of the landscape and habitat is important for the stream fish, (ii) the natural barriers are an important landscape component to be considered, and (iii) the artificial barriers (dams and impoundments) need to be planned taking in account the catchment basin as the landscape unit.

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PARTITIONING AMONG NICHE AND NEUTRAL EXPLANATIONS FOR METACOMMUNITY PATTERNS IN CERRADO STREAM FISH COMMUNITIES

10.1101/2020.04.06.027417 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Thiago Bernardi Vieira ◽

Liriann Chrisley Nascimento da Silva ◽

Lilian Casatti ◽

Renato Romero ◽

Francisco Leonardo Tejerina Garro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neutral Theory ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Mass Effect ◽

Species Selection ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Species Sorting ◽

Biological Communities ◽

Neutral Processes ◽

Selection Processes ◽

Metacommunity Structure

AbstractThe Species Sorting concept, one of the models developed to explain patterns in metacommunity structure, suggests that relationships between biological communities and environmental conditions is the basic means of the species selection processes. A second concept is neutral theory, and the idea of neutral dynamics underpinning metacommunity structure, cannot be overlooked. The third mechanism is the Mass Effect concept, that focuses on the interaction between environmental condition and neutral effects. In the present study, we partitioned fish communities in streams between niche and neutral theory concepts, identifying the best representation of metacommunity structure, and assessed if linear and hydrographic distance were equivalent in the representation of neutral processes. The result points to the importance of species sorting mechanisms in structuring fish communities with neutral processes best represented by the linear distances. On the other hand, the best representation of species’ niches was achieved with average values and variance of the local conditions.

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Influence of niche and neutral processes on fish communities associated with changes in macrophyte rafts along the hydrological cycle

Biologia ◽

10.1007/s11756-021-00747-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lucena R. Virgilio ◽

Werther Pereira Ramalho ◽

João C. B. Silva ◽

Monik Oliveira da Suçuarana ◽

Rodrigo Souza Gomes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrological Cycle ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Neutral Processes

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Water quality drives the regional patterns of an algal metacommunity in interconnected lakes

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93178-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Min Sung Kim ◽

Seok Hyun Ahn ◽

In Jae Jeong ◽

Tae Kwon Lee

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Community Assembly ◽

River Flow ◽

Geographical Area ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Algal Community ◽

Regional Patterns ◽

Algal Communities ◽

Species Sorting ◽

Metacommunity Structure

AbstractThe metacommunity approach provides insights into how the biological communities are assembled along the environmental variations. The current study presents the importance of water quality on the metacommunity structure of algal communities in six river-connected lakes using long-term (8 years) monitoring datasets. Elements of metacommunity structure were analyzed to evaluate whether water quality structured the metacommunity across biogeographic regions in the riverine ecosystem. The algal community in all lakes was found to exhibit Clementsian or quasi-Clementsian structure properties such as significant turnover, grouped and species sorting indicating that the communities responded to the environmental gradient. Reciprocal averaging clearly classified the lakes into three clusters according to the geographical region in river flow (upstream, midstream, and downstream). The dispersal patterns of algal genera, including Aulacoseira, Cyclotella, Stephanodiscus, and Chlamydomonas across the regions also supported the spatial-based classification results. Although conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, and biological oxygen demand were found to be important variables (loading > |0.5|) of the entire algal community assembly, water temperature was a critical factor in water quality associated with community assembly in each geographical area. These results support the notion that the structure of algal communities is strongly associated with water quality, but the relative importance of variables in structuring algal communities differed by geological regions.

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Large-scale patterns in species richness and composition of temperate riverine fish communities, south-eastern Australia

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf99061 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 165 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Peter C. Gehrke ◽

John H. Harris

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Large Scale ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

South Coast ◽

North Coast ◽

Large Spatial Scale ◽

River Types ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

Riverine Fish

Riverine fish in New South Wales were studied to examine longitudinal trends in species richness and to identify fish communities on a large spatial scale. Five replicate rivers of four types (montane, slopes, regulated lowland and unregulated lowland) were selected from North Coast, South Coast, Murray and Darling regions. Fishwere sampled during summer and winter in two consecutive years with standardized gear that maximized the range of species caught. The composition of fish communities varied among regions and river types, with little temporal variation. Distinct regional communities converged in montane reaches and diverged downstream. The fish fauna can be classified into North Coast, South Coast, Murray and Darling communities, with a distinct montane community at high elevations irrespective of the drainage division. Species richness increased downstream in both North Coast and South Coast regions by both replacement and the addition of new species. In contrast, species richness in the Darling and Murray regions reached a maximum in the slopes reaches and then declined, reflecting a loss of species in lowland reaches. The small number of species is typical of the freshwater fish faunas of similar climatic regions world-wide. Fish communities identified in this study form logical entities for fisheries management consistent with the ecosystem-focused, catchment-based approach to river management and water reform being adopted in Australia.

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Spatio-temporal variation in surf zone fish communities at Ilha do Cardoso State Park, São Paulo, Brazil

Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research ◽

10.3856/vol41-issue2-fulltext-4 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 239-253

Author(s):

Jana Menegassi del Favero ◽

June Ferraz Dias

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Changes ◽

Fish Community ◽

Surf Zone ◽

High Tide ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Biological Data ◽

Seasonal Effect ◽

São Paulo

In order to analyze the time-space variation of the fish fauna in the surf zone fish communities at Ilha do Cardoso State Park, São Paulo, Brazil, four consecutive hauls were done over a year on three beaches with different degrees of exposure, at low and high tide. To evaluate the influence of each abiotic variable over the fish community, a Canonical Correspondence Analysis was conducted. We identified 7,286 individuals belonging to 20 families and 47 species, most specimens collected were juveniles. At low tide, the highest diversity and richness values were calculated while the highest dominance was obtained at high tide. As for the number of species collected at the three beaches, stood out for the lower values the cooler months, between June and September. Abiotic variables explained 41.3% of the variability of biological data, where 11.4% corresponds to the spatial variation. Meanwhile the temporal variables accounted for 31.9% of the variation in abundance, where 26.3% of the variance explained nycthemeral variation. Additionally two groups were clearly observed between months with low and high temperature. However in this variable, the tidal variation, excluding the seasonal effect, explained 6.2%, while seasonality, excluding tide effect, explained 26.3%. Although the main measurable seasonal changes were related to temperature, water temperature showed a low percentage of explanation in the fish fauna variability (2.7%). Finally, it is emphasized that the seasonal changes in surf zone fish community primarily reflect patterns of recruitment determined by the reproductive activity and coastal circulation.

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Metacommunities

Community Ecology ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198835851.003.0014 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 266-284

Author(s):

Gary G. Mittelbach ◽

Brian J. McGill

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Neutral Theory ◽

Patch Dynamics ◽

Species Traits ◽

Local Communities ◽

The Other ◽

Species Sorting ◽

Niche Differences ◽

Dynamics Of Populations

Just as the dispersal of individuals may link the dynamics of populations in space, the dispersal of species among communities may link local communities into a metacommunity. Four different perspectives characterize how dispersal rates, environmental heterogeneity, and species traits interact to influence diversity in metacommunities. These perspectives are: patch dynamics, species sorting, mass effects, and the neutral perspective. The neutral perspective stands in stark contrast to the other three perspectives in that it assumes that niche differences between species are unimportant and that species are demographically identical in terms of their birth, death, and dispersal rates. Under the neutral perspective, species diversity is maintained by a balance between speciation, extinction, and dispersal. Although neutral theory is incompatible with realistic modes and rates of speciation, it has been enormously influential in focusing our attention on the linkages between species interactions on local scales, and evolutionary and biogeographic processes occurring on large scales.

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Species sorting dominates plant metacommunity structure in coastal dunes

Acta Oecologica ◽

10.1016/j.actao.2011.11.002 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 33-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ane Kirstine Brunbjerg ◽

Rasmus Ejrnæs ◽

Jens-Christian Svenning

Keyword(s):

Coastal Dunes ◽

Species Sorting ◽

Metacommunity Structure

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Fish communities of the Pantanal wetland in Brazil: evaluating the effects of the upper Paraguay river flood pulse on baía Caiçara fish fauna

Aquatic Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10452-009-9289-9 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 275-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

H. Pains da Silva ◽

A. C. Petry ◽

C. J. da Silva

Keyword(s):

Fish Communities ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Flood Pulse ◽

Paraguay River ◽

River Flood ◽

Pantanal Wetland

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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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