In the Oueme River, a lowland river in Benin, Africa, artificial ponds constructed in the floodplain (whedos) are colonized during the high-water period by a presumably random sample of fishes from the river channel. As water slowly recedes from the floodplain, fishes are isolated in whedos until they are harvested near the end of the dry season. I surveyed fishes in whedos and adjacent main-channel and floodplain habitats during two low-water (2008 and 2009) and one falling-water (2010-2011) periods, and measured a suite of physicochemical variables including dissolved oxygen, temperature, specific conductivity, and percent cover of aquatic vegetation in the falling-water period to investigate if fish assemblage structure of whedos resulted from stochastic or deterministic processes. I also investigated food web structure of whedos by analyzing carbon (delta13C) and nitrogen (delta15N) stable isotope ratios of fish and primary producer tissue samples, and samples of net primary production, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), NH4+, NO2-, and NO3- collected during the falling-water period. Whedos were covered with dense growth of aquatic vegetation, and dissolved oxygen concentrations were lower in whedos compared to a natural floodplain depression and the main channel. Multivariate analyses revealed that habitat types were distinct with regard to fish assemblage structure and abiotic conditions. Assemblages in whedos and natural floodplain depressions were differentiated from those of the river channel, with the floodplain habitats being dominated by piscivorous fishes that tolerate aquatic hypoxia. These results indicate that fish assemblage structure of whedos was influenced by deterministic processes during the falling- and low-water periods when these water bodies were isolated. Floodplain habitats were more nutrient-rich than the river channel, and whedos were net heterotrophic. Microphytobenthos and C3 macrophytes accounted for a large fraction of fish biomass in whedos, compared with the river channel, which was mainly supported by seston. Whedo food webs had fewer trophic transfers compared to the food web of the river channel.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-12-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:00:50Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 araujo_rb_dr_jabo.pdf: 1067716 bytes, checksum: 706c3ec31777349a033e768e87ccffee (MD5) / Na planície de inundação do alto rio Paraná, lagoas marginais são viveiros naturais de espécies comercialmente importantes e habitat preferencial de peixes sedentários e de pequeno porte. No presente estudo, foram investigadas a composição e a abundância de comunidades de peixes em lagoas marginais (temporárias e permanentes) sazonalmente isoladas do rio Turvo, incluindo alterações qualitativas e quantitativas nas estações seca e chuvosa e sua relação com fatores ambientais. O material foi coletado em ambas as estações em seis lagoas marginais. As comunidades de peixes foram analisadas por meio de riqueza de espécies, diversidade e equitabilidade, similaridade qualitativa e quantitativa, e associações ecológicas entre amostras, espécies e variáveis ambientais. Foi registrado um total de 7.456 exemplares, distribuídos em 52 espécies, 40 gêneros, 19 famílias, e cinco ordens. As espécies mais abundantes foram Astyanax altiparanae, Serrapinnus heterodon, Liposarcus anisitsi, Hyphessobrycon eques, and Moenkahausia intermedia. A análise de agrupamento mostrou baixa similaridade entre as lagoas, sugerindo heterogeneidade desses ambientes. A composição e abundância das comunidades de peixes nas lagoas estudadas mostraram acentuada sazonalidade, sendo maiores os valores de riqueza e abundância obtidos na estação chuvosa. A análise de correspondência canônica revelou que temperatura da água, alcalinidade e abundância de anfíbios foram significativamente associadas à estrutura da ictiofauna. / In the Upper Paraná River floodplain, marginal lagoons are natural nurseries of commercially important fish species and preferential habitat of sedentary and small-sized fish species. The composition and abundance of fish communities in seasonally isolated lagoons (temporary and permanent) of the rio Turvo, qualitative and quantitative changes in the dry and rainy seasons, as well as relationship with environmental factors, were investigated. The material was sampled in both seasons in six marginal lagoons. The ichthyofauna was studied through species richness, diversity, evenness, qualitative and quantitative similarities, and ecological associations between the samples and species along an environmental gradient. A total of 7,457 specimens, distributed among 52 species, 40 genera, 19 families, and five orders, were recorded. The most abundant species were Astyanax altiparanae, Serrapinnus heterodon, Liposarcus anisitsi, Hyphessobrycon eques, and Moenkahausia intermedia. Cluster analysis showed a low similarity among lagoons suggesting heterogeneity of these environments. The composition and abundance of fish communities in the studied marginal lagoons showed a remarkable seasonality, with highest values of species richness and abundance obtained in the rainy season. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the water temperature, alkalinity, and amphibian abundance were significantly associated with the ichthyofauna structure.

Orientador: Francisco Langeani Neto / Banca: Oscar Akio Shibatta / Banca: Lilian Casatti / Banca: Antonio Fernando Monteiro Camargo / Banca: Luiz Henrique Florindo / Resumo: Na planície de inundação do alto rio Paraná, lagoas marginais são viveiros naturais de espécies comercialmente importantes e habitat preferencial de peixes sedentários e de pequeno porte. No presente estudo, foram investigadas a composição e a abundância de comunidades de peixes em lagoas marginais (temporárias e permanentes) sazonalmente isoladas do rio Turvo, incluindo alterações qualitativas e quantitativas nas estações seca e chuvosa e sua relação com fatores ambientais. O material foi coletado em ambas as estações em seis lagoas marginais. As comunidades de peixes foram analisadas por meio de riqueza de espécies, diversidade e equitabilidade, similaridade qualitativa e quantitativa, e associações ecológicas entre amostras, espécies e variáveis ambientais. Foi registrado um total de 7.456 exemplares, distribuídos em 52 espécies, 40 gêneros, 19 famílias, e cinco ordens. As espécies mais abundantes foram Astyanax altiparanae, Serrapinnus heterodon, Liposarcus anisitsi, Hyphessobrycon eques, and Moenkahausia intermedia. A análise de agrupamento mostrou baixa similaridade entre as lagoas, sugerindo heterogeneidade desses ambientes. A composição e abundância das comunidades de peixes nas lagoas estudadas mostraram acentuada sazonalidade, sendo maiores os valores de riqueza e abundância obtidos na estação chuvosa. A análise de correspondência canônica revelou que temperatura da água, alcalinidade e abundância de anfíbios foram significativamente associadas à estrutura da ictiofauna. / Abstract: In the Upper Paraná River floodplain, marginal lagoons are natural nurseries of commercially important fish species and preferential habitat of sedentary and small-sized fish species. The composition and abundance of fish communities in seasonally isolated lagoons (temporary and permanent) of the rio Turvo, qualitative and quantitative changes in the dry and rainy seasons, as well as relationship with environmental factors, were investigated. The material was sampled in both seasons in six marginal lagoons. The ichthyofauna was studied through species richness, diversity, evenness, qualitative and quantitative similarities, and ecological associations between the samples and species along an environmental gradient. A total of 7,457 specimens, distributed among 52 species, 40 genera, 19 families, and five orders, were recorded. The most abundant species were Astyanax altiparanae, Serrapinnus heterodon, Liposarcus anisitsi, Hyphessobrycon eques, and Moenkahausia intermedia. Cluster analysis showed a low similarity among lagoons suggesting heterogeneity of these environments. The composition and abundance of fish communities in the studied marginal lagoons showed a remarkable seasonality, with highest values of species richness and abundance obtained in the rainy season. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the water temperature, alkalinity, and amphibian abundance were significantly associated with the ichthyofauna structure. / Doutor

Changes in land cover and fish assemblage structure were assessed across two spatial and temporal scales in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Virginia. A long-term, local study (1953 to 2014) on the Tuckahoe Creek watershed used digitized aerial photography and satellite images (Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS) to quantify land cover change for five nested catchments in 1953, 1990, and 2014. Instream fish collections from 1958, 1990, and 2014 were utilized to assess a variety of fish assemblage metrics for each of the five catchments, and analyses were performed to assess associations between changes in land cover and changes in fish assemblage structure across all three time periods. A short-term, regional study assessed 21 catchments in the region using 1997 Landsat 5 TM satellite images and 2014 Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite images to quantify land cover change. Fish collections from 1995-1999 and 2014 were utilized to assess a variety of fish assemblage metrics from samples taken at instream sites for each of the 21 catchments. Analyses were performed to discover any associations between changes in land cover and changes in fish assemblage structure from a regional perspective. This study found that there were significant changes in land cover over all study periods in the Tuckahoe Creek watershed and that land cover changes were correlated to changes in fish assemblage structure over the long-term study. Regionally, there were significant changes in land cover, with no correlation to changes in fish assemblage structure found. The data suggests that anthropogenic alterations to the landscape have had long-term effects on fish assemblage structure in Tuckahoe Creek, but the results from the short-term assessments did not detect a relationship between land cover changes and changes in fish assemblage structure. It is possible that the fish communities were already established in moderately degraded catchments by the 1990s due to previous anthropogenic stressors.