Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes
Submerged macrophytes play an important role in structuring habitats and, therefore, in determining patterns of aquatic biodiversity. Because these plants are widespread in shallow areas of many Neotropical reservoirs, the present work investigated if variables related to habitat structure, measured...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia
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| Series: | Neotropical Ichthyology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252008000400001&lng=en&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1818154912312197120 |
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| author | Fernando Mayer Pelicice Sidinei Magela Thomaz Angelo Antonio Agostinho |
| author_facet | Fernando Mayer Pelicice Sidinei Magela Thomaz Angelo Antonio Agostinho |
| author_sort | Fernando Mayer Pelicice |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Submerged macrophytes play an important role in structuring habitats and, therefore, in determining patterns of aquatic biodiversity. Because these plants are widespread in shallow areas of many Neotropical reservoirs, the present work investigated if variables related to habitat structure, measured in patches of submerged macrophytes (Egeria densa and E. najas), can be used to predict fish assemblage attributes (fish density and species richness). Based on patch characteristics at fine spatial extents (macrophyte patches within reservoir arms), we considered plant biomass, volume and proportional volume (i.e. percentage of macrophyte volume in the water column) as potential predictors. Fish and macrophytes were sampled with a 1-m² throw trap in littoral habitats of Rosana Reservoir, Paranapanema River, and simple correlation analyses were performed. Fish richness and abundance were highly correlated with all variables (R = 0.53 to 0.90), a relationship consistently observed in all sites. When compared to biomass, plant volume and proportional volume did not yield stronger correlations. We observed stronger correlations when E. densa and E. najas patches were analyzed separately (mono-specificity), probably because particular effects of each macrophyte on habitat structuring were removed (e.g. unnoticed morphological differences or unknown effects on habitat quality). The high R values observed in all pairwise relationships are uncommon in ecological studies, highlighting the predictive potential of variables related to habitat structure. These results suggest that, at small spatial extents, macrophyte biomass may represent an interesting predictor of fish density and richness in reservoirs with extensive colonization of submerged plants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T14:34:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-30ef0c879d9542879334674721bc6515 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1982-0224 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T14:34:03Z |
| publisher | Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neotropical Ichthyology |
| spelling | doaj.art-30ef0c879d9542879334674721bc65152022-12-22T01:02:16ZengSociedade Brasileira de IctiologiaNeotropical Ichthyology1982-02246454355010.1590/S1679-62252008000400001S1679-62252008000400001Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytesFernando Mayer Pelicice0Sidinei Magela Thomaz1Angelo Antonio Agostinho2Universidade Estadual de MaringáUniversidade Estadual de MaringáUniversidade Estadual de MaringáSubmerged macrophytes play an important role in structuring habitats and, therefore, in determining patterns of aquatic biodiversity. Because these plants are widespread in shallow areas of many Neotropical reservoirs, the present work investigated if variables related to habitat structure, measured in patches of submerged macrophytes (Egeria densa and E. najas), can be used to predict fish assemblage attributes (fish density and species richness). Based on patch characteristics at fine spatial extents (macrophyte patches within reservoir arms), we considered plant biomass, volume and proportional volume (i.e. percentage of macrophyte volume in the water column) as potential predictors. Fish and macrophytes were sampled with a 1-m² throw trap in littoral habitats of Rosana Reservoir, Paranapanema River, and simple correlation analyses were performed. Fish richness and abundance were highly correlated with all variables (R = 0.53 to 0.90), a relationship consistently observed in all sites. When compared to biomass, plant volume and proportional volume did not yield stronger correlations. We observed stronger correlations when E. densa and E. najas patches were analyzed separately (mono-specificity), probably because particular effects of each macrophyte on habitat structuring were removed (e.g. unnoticed morphological differences or unknown effects on habitat quality). The high R values observed in all pairwise relationships are uncommon in ecological studies, highlighting the predictive potential of variables related to habitat structure. These results suggest that, at small spatial extents, macrophyte biomass may represent an interesting predictor of fish density and richness in reservoirs with extensive colonization of submerged plants.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252008000400001&lng=en&tlng=enAquatic plantsHabitat structurePredictive ecologyVariabilityTropical reservoir |
| spellingShingle | Fernando Mayer Pelicice Sidinei Magela Thomaz Angelo Antonio Agostinho Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes Neotropical Ichthyology Aquatic plants Habitat structure Predictive ecology Variability Tropical reservoir |
| title | Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes |
| title_full | Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes |
| title_fullStr | Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes |
| title_short | Simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes |
| title_sort | simple relationships to predict attributes of fish assemblages in patches of submerged macrophytes |
| topic | Aquatic plants Habitat structure Predictive ecology Variability Tropical reservoir |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252008000400001&lng=en&tlng=en |
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