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京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18793号 / 理博第4051号 / 新制||理||1583(附属図書館) / 31744 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 田中 貴浩, 教授 中村 卓史, 教授 高柳 匡 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Research was conducted in three areas of water quality assessment. Long term ecological monitoring data from Shenandoah National Park (SNP) were analyzed and a protocol for data analysis was presented. Streams in SNP were found to be comparable to the best that can be found in the Blue Ridge ecoregion. Land use in SNP (mostly for recreational purposes) does not appear to be causing impairment to the macroinvertebrate assemblages. Streams in the SNP were found to recover quickly from disturbance. The Macroinvertebrate Aggregated Index for Streams (MAIS) was found to have an overall classification efficiency (CE) of 86% in the Ridge and Valley ecoregion, and an overall CE of 91% in the Central Appalachians ecoregion. Refinement of the MAIS for use in the Blue Ridge ecoregion resulted in an increase of the overall CE to 78%. The CE for reference sites in the Blue Ridge was 75%, and the CE for degraded sites was 87%. An intensive study of a stream (Peak Creek) with suspected heavy metal impairment showed that capping of an industrial waste site has resulted in improvements to the macroinvertebrate assemblages. The source of the impairment was not linked solely to heavy metals, but was found to be a mixture of pollution sources and environmental stress. / Ph. D.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major environmental issue worldwide. On the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand, numerous catchments receive AMD, with significant negative impacts on in-stream flora and fauna. Diatoms are commonly regarded as powerful biological indicators and may be found in high abundance in AMD-contaminated streams; however, relatively little work has been done on diatoms in mining environments in New Zealand. Initially, I conducted a survey of epiphytic diatom communities in 39 streams ranging from non-impacted reference streams to those severely impacted by AMD. Streams were assigned to one of four classes along an AMD gradient: circum-neutral reference, naturally acidic reference, moderately impacted, and severely impacted. There was a wide range in diatom taxonomic richness in reference and moderately impacted streams (8 – 33 taxa). Taxonomic richness was greatly reduced in severely impacted streams (1 – 5 taxa) at a threshold of pH 3.4 and was dominated by Pinnularia cf. acidophila (69 – 100% relative abundance). Community composition differed between circum-neutral reference, moderately, and severely impacted streams; however, naturally acidic and moderately impacted streams had similar diatom communities primarily composed of acid-tolerant Eunotia and Frustulia species. This indicated that diatoms are strongly structured by pH and able to tolerate moderate conductivity and metal concentrations without a corresponding shift in community composition. Survey data were then used to develop two diatom-based indices for streams impacted by AMD: a single Biotic Index and a Multimetric Index. While neither index was able to distinguish naturally acidic from moderately impacted streams, both indices successfully categorised streams as circum-neutral reference, moderately or severely impacted by AMD. These indices may be useful in assessing AMD impact on circum-neutral streams or in identifying when a stream has crossed a threshold from moderately to severely impacted by AMD. Diatoms would be especially useful as bioindicators of AMD if they respond rapidly to a change in mine discharge. To test this, mature algal biofilms were reciprocally transferred between circum-neutral reference streams and streams of varying degrees of AMD over a period of 13 days. Diatom mortality increased rapidly in the reciprocal transfer between reference and severely impacted streams. Reference communities resembled the ambient diatom community of severely impacted streams 13 days post-transfer. However, in the reverse transfer, a change in community composition was slow to occur. Diatoms respond faster to an increase in pollution than to pollution amelioration. Overall, results indicated that diatom communities may be a useful tool for monitoring the presence and magnitude of AMD in New Zealand streams.

An increase in public environmental awareness and a decrease in resources within government regulatory agencies have led to a larger interest in volunteer biomonitoring programs. Government agencies are currently using volunteer data for official purposes with increasing frequency, but questions have been raised about the validity of the data collected by volunteers who have only limited training and experience. Therefore, we conducted a detailed study to assess, modify, and validate the Virginia Save-Our-Streams (SOS) program, which is a volunteer organization collecting macroinvertebrate data. Sites were sampled using professional methods concurrently with volunteers who utilized the SOS protocol. The volunteer samples were retained for further laboratory analysis. In addition, numerous sites previously sampled by volunteers were re-sampled using professional methods. The data were statistically analyzed to determine if the results of volunteers and professional aquatic biologists were correlated and if they arrived at the same conclusions about ecological condition. It was determined that the Virginia SOS method, and probably other similar volunteer methods, consistently overrate ecological condition. This means that streams impaired by pollution could go unreported, if they are monitored exclusively by volunteers. The cause of this overestimation was determined to be the overly simplistic SOS metric, which is based solely on the presence or absence of taxa. The SOS protocol for data analysis was made more quantitative by developing a multimetric index that is appropriate for use by volunteers. The SOS sampling protocol was modified slightly to obtain actual counts of the different kinds of macroinvertebrates, which allowed for calculation of metrics. Sorting effort and taxonomic level of identification were not changed so that currently participating volunteers would not be excluded because of the need for expensive equipment or advanced technical training. The modified SOS protocol was evaluated by a different set of concurrent samples taken by volunteers and professionals, but using the same statistical techniques. The modified SOS protocol proved to be feasible for volunteers. The new SOS multimetric index correlated well with a professional multimetric index. The conclusions about ecological condition derived from the volunteer multimetric index agreed very closely with those made by professional aquatic biologists. This study demonstrated that volunteer biomonitoring programs can provide reliable data, but every volunteer program needs to be thoroughly validated by statistical comparisons to the professional methods being used in that area. / Master of Science

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:44:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CAIO CESAR NEVES SOUSA.pdf: 873231 bytes, checksum: 4cdf0c403471e06a30027b51684d761d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-16 / The Meia Ponte River basin is known not only for being major source of water supply for the city of Goiânia and other regions of the Goiás State, but also by the intense anthropogenic pressure resulting from the multiple use of their terrestrial environment. This study aims to evaluate the quality of the aquatic environment of this basin, through the Fish Based Index (FBI) using different scoring criteria. The data used was extracted from the database of the Center for Aquatic Biology - Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás, which is composed by samplings in 30 tributaries performed between March and August 2001 and at five stations in the main channel during May, November and December 2006. From a total of 58 fish assemblages descriptors and 20 quantitative and qualitative environmental variables selected a priori to characterize the biotic integrity, 16 descriptors (abundance, abundance of the families Characidae, Crenuchidae, Lebiasinidae, Loricariidae, Pimelodidae, Poecilidae and Prochilodontidae, family richness of Crenuchidae and Pimelodidae, trophic guild richness of herbivores, insectivores and piscivores, abundance of detritivores and insectivores) and 9 qualitative environmental variables showed statistically significant variations, compounding the FBI, which in turn was scored using different valuation models. Overall, it is observed a low quality of the aquatic environment in the tributaries or the main channel of the Meia Ponte River basin. It is expected that this index may contribute to the regional monitoring of environmental quality and thus become a management tool of freshwater ecosystems by the control agency. / A bacia do rio Meia Ponte é conhecida por ser uma importante fonte de abastecimento de água para a cidade de Goiânia e demais regiões do estado de Goiás e pela intensa pressão antropogênica resultante do uso múltiplo de seu ambiente terrestre. Este estudo tem por objetivo avaliar a qualidade do ambiente aquático da bacia do rio Meia Ponte, por meio do Índice Baseado no Peixe (IBP), utilizando diferentes critérios de pontuação. Do banco de dados do Centro de Biologia Aquática da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás, foram extraídos dados de amostragens realizadas em 30 afluentes, no período de março e agosto de 2001 e em cinco estações no canal principal, no período de maio, novembro e dezembro de 2006. Do total de 58 descritores das assembleias de peixes e 20 variáveis ambientais quali-quantitativas selecionadas a priori para caracterizar a integridade biótica, 15 descritores (abundância, abundância das famílias Characidae, Crenuchidae, Lebiasinidae, Loricariidae, Pimelodidae, Poecilidae e Prochilodontidae, riqueza das famílias Crenuchidae e Pimelodidae, riqueza dos grupos tróficos herbívoro, insetívoro e piscívoro, abundância dos grupos tróficos detritívoros e insetívoros) e 9 variáveis ambientais qualitativas apresentaram variações estatisticamente significativas, compondo o IBP, que por sua vez foi pontuado utilizando diferentes modelos de avaliação. No geral observou-se uma baixa qualidade do ambiente aquático na bacia do rio Meia Ponte, tanto nos afluentes como no canal principal. Espera-se que o índice elaborado possa contribuir no monitoramento da qualidade ambiental regional e assim se tornar uma ferramenta de gestão dos ambientes aquáticos continentais por parte das agência de controle.

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2014-10-01T15:50:01Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Allan Valle Toledo da Silveira - 2013.pdf: 1647435 bytes, checksum: 49a815f9117230a88dd9f9443c919f33 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2014-10-01T16:46:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Allan Valle Toledo da Silveira - 2013.pdf: 1647435 bytes, checksum: 49a815f9117230a88dd9f9443c919f33 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-01T16:46:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Allan Valle Toledo da Silveira - 2013.pdf: 1647435 bytes, checksum: 49a815f9117230a88dd9f9443c919f33 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This thesis evaluated the variables that influence the distribution of aquatic insects, along different spatial scales, aiming to establish a biologic index of water quality based on these organisms. The study area was the Rio dos Bois watershed, one of the most important from Goiás State, due to its vocation for agricultural and cattle production. Thus, the community of aquatic insects occurring in forty two streams was sampled, as well as a series of water physicochemical variables. Surrounding the streams (up to a distance of 200 m), and along the watershed above the sampling units, percentages of land use (agriculture, pasture and native vegetation) were estimated based on LandSat 5/TM satellite images from July 2012. The main results showed that (1) smaller spatial scales seem to provide better estimates of water quality and aquatic insects community than the watershed level scale, being recommended to use habitat integrity indexes (HII); (2) the variance partition held to define the contribution of the spatial processes and environmental variables on the community structure of aquatic insects did not present statistically significant values to corroborate none of the two sets of predictors and (3) only four from the 26 biodiversity metrics studied were enough to compose a multimetric index for the watershed, (% Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera richness, EPT richness and the BMWP/ASPT index). (4) Based on this index, it was possible to classify the streams from the study area as very disturbed (41%), with intermediate impacts (46%) and minimally disturbed (13%). This study may contribute to future studies of biomonitoring and conservation of water resources in the Goiás State and Brazil. / escalas espaciais, na tentativa de estabelecer um índice biológico de qualidade de água baseado nesses organismos. A área de estudo adotada foi a Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio dos Bois, uma das mais importantes do estado de Goiás, devido a sua vocação agropecuária. Desta forma, a comunidade de insetos aquáticos pertencentes a quarenta e dois córregos foi amostrada, bem como uma série de variáveis físico químicas da água . Nos arredores dos córregos (até 200 m de distância), bem como em toda a bacia à montante do local amostrado, porcentagens de classes de uso de solo (agricultura, pecuária e vegetação) foram estimadas a partir de imagens de satélite LandSat 5/TM datadas de julho de 2012. Os principais resultados evidenciam que (1) escalas espaciais menores parecem ser melhores preditores da qualidade da água e das comunidades de insetos aquáticos do que a escala ao nível de bacia, sendo recomendada a utilização de índices de integridade ambiental (IIA); (2) a partição de variância realizada para determinar as contribuições dos processos espaciais e variáveis ambientais na estruturação da comunidade de insetos aquáticos não apresentou valores estatisticamente significativos para corroborar nenhum dos dois conjuntos de preditores e (3) apenas quatro de 26 métricas de biodiversidade estudadas foram satisfatórias para compor um índice multimétrico para a bacia, (% Plecoptera, riqueza de Ephemeroptera, riqueza de EPT e o índice BMWP/ASPT). (4) Baseado neste índice, pôde-se classificar os córregos da área estudada como: muito impactadas (41%), com impactos intermediários (46%) e minimamente impactadas (13%). Acredita-se que este estudo possa contribuir para futuros estudos de biomonitoramento e conservação de recursos hídricos no estado de Goiás e no Brasil.

In this thesis a set of recently proposed multigravity theories is analysed. In the special case of bimetric gravity, the theory has been conclusively shown to be ghost-free. On the other hand, for multigravity theories in general, the ghost-issue has not been settled conclusively. Motivated by this fact, the main object of this thesis is to clarify what has been proven so far and what issues that still needs to be addressed. We also provide new calculations and results pointing in the direction that the multigravity theories must be restricted to a set of bimetric Hassan-Rosen couplings in a tree-type structure in order to be consistent. In particular, we prove that for a multivielbein theory of <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?%5Cmathscr%7BN%7D" /> interacting vielbeins, the Lorentz equations of motion is a set of <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?(%5Cmathscr%7BN%7D-1)" /> Deser-van Nieuwenhuizen conditions if and only if the theory consists of bimetric Hassan-Rosen couplings in a tree-type structure.

O Pantanal é um complexo de ecossistemas que exibe grande diversidade de ambientes aquáticos. O objetivo geral deste estudo foi caracterizar a estrutura da comunidade de peixes no Parque Nacional do Pantanal Mato-grossense (PNPM), uma Unidade de Conservação federal localizada no município de Poconé, MT, a fim de apoiar a construção de um instrumento de monitoramento baseado na integridade biótica do ambiente aquático. Tal objetivo foi obtido através da adaptação do Índice de Integridade Biótica para o PNPM (IIBPNPM). Previamente ao capítulo sobre a construção do IIBPNPM, que se espera representativo para uma porção ainda intocada do Pantanal, os dois primeiros capítulos fornecem os dados necessários para subsidiar a aplicação do índice. O primeiro trata da caracterização dos diferentes ambientes que ocorrem no PNPM, agrupados em quatro estratos ambientais: rios principais (rios Cuiabá e Paraguai), corixos (canais de ligação da planície de inundação), baías permanentes (não perdem a conexão na seca) e baías temporárias (aquelas que perdem conexão com os outros elementos da planície). Essa caracterização foi realizada na primeira campanha exploratória ao PNPM, em setembro de 2009, quando foram definidos os pontos de amostragem de água e de peixes. Testes estatísticos foram realizados para verificar a existência de associação entre os diferentes estratos e os fatores abióticos (variáveis físicas e químicas da água), porém, não foram significativos, indicando que os ambientes são homogêneos. As coletas de peixes foram realizadas em 12 pontos dentro do PNPM, no período seco, no final de outubro e início de novembro de 2010 e 2011. No segundo capítulo, foram identificadas 154 espécies de peixes, totalizando 19.839 indivíduos, das quais 146 espécies (18.954 exemplares) foram consideradas para a construção do IIBPNPM, por questões de padronização dos petrechos de pesca. Testes estatísticos também não evidenciaram associação entre a estrutura das assembleias de peixes e os estratos, reforçando a hipótese da homogeneidade dos ambientes. No entanto, os índices de diversidade de Shannon (H) e equabilidade de Pielou (J) foram significativamente diferentes entre os estratos. A homogeneidade dos ambientes pode ser explicada pelo fato do PNPM estar situado num pantanal de alta inundação, que pode durar até oito meses de um único ciclo hidrológico. Analisando o que os resultados indicaram, os poucos meses de estiagem parecem não ser suficientes para gerar variablidade ambiental detectável pelos métodos utilizados. O IIBPNPM final é composto por nove métricas e três classes de integridade biótica: excelente, regular e pobre, com intervalos específicos de pontuação. A maioria das métricas se enquadrou na classe excelente, algumas na classe regular e nenhuma na classe pobre, o que era esperado pelo fato de não haver indícios de degradação ambiental no interior do PNPM. A comunidade de peixes, portanto, é bem estruturada, rica e abundante. Não houve diferença significativa nas pontuações do IIBPNPM entre os anos (2010 e 2011). Embora a localização privilegiada do PNPM amorteça o efeito dos impactos antrópicos, eles estão presentes de maneira difusa em todo o Pantanal, com intensidade e magnitude diversas. Aliado a isso, há de se levar em conta que o PNPM é uma área de berçário de muitas espécies de peixes, e exerce papel fundamental no recrutamento de recursos pesqueiros. Por isso, recomenda-se aos gestores do PNPM a implementação de um programa de monitoramento ambiental que tenha a ictiofauna como indicadora dos processos ecológicos. Nesse sentido, a aplicação sistematizada do IIBPNPM pode auxiliar na síntese das informações e na comunicação dos resultados à sociedade. / The Pantanal is a complex of ecosystems that displays high diversity of aquatic habitats. The overall objective of this thesis was to characterize the structure of the fish assemblages in the Pantanal National Park, a federal protected area located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, to back up the construction of a monitoring instrument based on the biotic integrity of the aquatic environment. This objective was achieved by adapting the Index of Biotic Integrity for the Pantanal National Park habitats. Prior to the chapter on the construction of this index (IIBPNPM), expected to be representative of a quite pristine Pantanal portion, the first two chapters provide the necessary data to support the application of the index. The first one deals with the characterization of the different hábitats that occur in PNPM, grouped into four environmental strata: main rivers (Cuiabá and Paraguai rivers), corixos (channels that connect the floodplain elements), permanent bays (do not lose the river connection in the dry season) and temporary bays (lose the connection in the dry season). This characterization was performed in the first PNPM exploratory campaign, in September 2009, when the future sampling sites were defined by collecting water and fish. Statistical tests were performed aiming to detect the existence of an association between the different strata and abiotic factors (water quality variables). However, they were not significant, indicating that the hábitats are homogeneous. Fish sampling were performed at 12 points within the PNPM, during the dry season in late October and early November of 2010 and 2011. In the second chapter, we identified 154 species of fish, totaling 19,839 individuals from which 146 species (18,954 individuals) were considered for the IIBPNPM framing for reasons of standardization of the fishing gears. Statistical tests also showed no association between the structure of the fish assemblage and strata, reinforcing the hypothesis of homogeneity of environments. However, the Shannon diversity index (H\') and evenness (J) were significantly different between the strata. The homogeneity of the environments can be explained by the PNPM being located in a wetland of high flooding, which can last up to eight months of a single hydrological cycle. Analyzed results indicate that the few dry months are not sufficient to generate environmental variability detectable by the methods used. The final IIBPNPM consists of nine metrics and three classes of biotic integrity: \"excellent\", \"regular\" and \"poor\", with specific ranges of scores. Most metrics are framed in \"excellent\" class, some in \"regular\" and none in \"poor\" one, which was expected because there was no evidence of environmental degradation within the PNPM. The fish community is well structured, rich and abundant. There was no significant difference in scores between IIBPNPM years (2010 and 2011). Although the location of PNPM cushions the effect of human impacts, they are present in a diffuse manner throughout the Pantanal, with various intensities and magnitudes. Allied to this, one should take into account that the PNPM is a nursery area for many fish species, and plays an essential role in the recruitment of fishery resources. Therefore, we emphatically recommend to the PNPM managers that implement an active monitoring program considering the fish assemblage as an indicator of ecological processes. The periodic performance of IIBPNPM can assist in summarizing information and to communicate the results to society.

O Pantanal é um complexo de ecossistemas que exibe grande diversidade de ambientes aquáticos. O objetivo geral deste estudo foi caracterizar a estrutura da comunidade de peixes no Parque Nacional do Pantanal Mato-grossense (PNPM), uma Unidade de Conservação federal localizada no município de Poconé, MT, a fim de apoiar a construção de um instrumento de monitoramento baseado na integridade biótica do ambiente aquático. Tal objetivo foi obtido através da adaptação do Índice de Integridade Biótica para o PNPM (IIBPNPM). Previamente ao capítulo sobre a construção do IIBPNPM, que se espera representativo para uma porção ainda intocada do Pantanal, os dois primeiros capítulos fornecem os dados necessários para subsidiar a aplicação do índice. O primeiro trata da caracterização dos diferentes ambientes que ocorrem no PNPM, agrupados em quatro estratos ambientais: rios principais (rios Cuiabá e Paraguai), corixos (canais de ligação da planície de inundação), baías permanentes (não perdem a conexão na seca) e baías temporárias (aquelas que perdem conexão com os outros elementos da planície). Essa caracterização foi realizada na primeira campanha exploratória ao PNPM, em setembro de 2009, quando foram definidos os pontos de amostragem de água e de peixes. Testes estatísticos foram realizados para verificar a existência de associação entre os diferentes estratos e os fatores abióticos (variáveis físicas e químicas da água), porém, não foram significativos, indicando que os ambientes são homogêneos. As coletas de peixes foram realizadas em 12 pontos dentro do PNPM, no período seco, no final de outubro e início de novembro de 2010 e 2011. No segundo capítulo, foram identificadas 154 espécies de peixes, totalizando 19.839 indivíduos, das quais 146 espécies (18.954 exemplares) foram consideradas para a construção do IIBPNPM, por questões de padronização dos petrechos de pesca. Testes estatísticos também não evidenciaram associação entre a estrutura das assembleias de peixes e os estratos, reforçando a hipótese da homogeneidade dos ambientes. No entanto, os índices de diversidade de Shannon (H) e equabilidade de Pielou (J) foram significativamente diferentes entre os estratos. A homogeneidade dos ambientes pode ser explicada pelo fato do PNPM estar situado num pantanal de alta inundação, que pode durar até oito meses de um único ciclo hidrológico. Analisando o que os resultados indicaram, os poucos meses de estiagem parecem não ser suficientes para gerar variablidade ambiental detectável pelos métodos utilizados. O IIBPNPM final é composto por nove métricas e três classes de integridade biótica: excelente, regular e pobre, com intervalos específicos de pontuação. A maioria das métricas se enquadrou na classe excelente, algumas na classe regular e nenhuma na classe pobre, o que era esperado pelo fato de não haver indícios de degradação ambiental no interior do PNPM. A comunidade de peixes, portanto, é bem estruturada, rica e abundante. Não houve diferença significativa nas pontuações do IIBPNPM entre os anos (2010 e 2011). Embora a localização privilegiada do PNPM amorteça o efeito dos impactos antrópicos, eles estão presentes de maneira difusa em todo o Pantanal, com intensidade e magnitude diversas. Aliado a isso, há de se levar em conta que o PNPM é uma área de berçário de muitas espécies de peixes, e exerce papel fundamental no recrutamento de recursos pesqueiros. Por isso, recomenda-se aos gestores do PNPM a implementação de um programa de monitoramento ambiental que tenha a ictiofauna como indicadora dos processos ecológicos. Nesse sentido, a aplicação sistematizada do IIBPNPM pode auxiliar na síntese das informações e na comunicação dos resultados à sociedade. / The Pantanal is a complex of ecosystems that displays high diversity of aquatic habitats. The overall objective of this thesis was to characterize the structure of the fish assemblages in the Pantanal National Park, a federal protected area located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, to back up the construction of a monitoring instrument based on the biotic integrity of the aquatic environment. This objective was achieved by adapting the Index of Biotic Integrity for the Pantanal National Park habitats. Prior to the chapter on the construction of this index (IIBPNPM), expected to be representative of a quite pristine Pantanal portion, the first two chapters provide the necessary data to support the application of the index. The first one deals with the characterization of the different hábitats that occur in PNPM, grouped into four environmental strata: main rivers (Cuiabá and Paraguai rivers), corixos (channels that connect the floodplain elements), permanent bays (do not lose the river connection in the dry season) and temporary bays (lose the connection in the dry season). This characterization was performed in the first PNPM exploratory campaign, in September 2009, when the future sampling sites were defined by collecting water and fish. Statistical tests were performed aiming to detect the existence of an association between the different strata and abiotic factors (water quality variables). However, they were not significant, indicating that the hábitats are homogeneous. Fish sampling were performed at 12 points within the PNPM, during the dry season in late October and early November of 2010 and 2011. In the second chapter, we identified 154 species of fish, totaling 19,839 individuals from which 146 species (18,954 individuals) were considered for the IIBPNPM framing for reasons of standardization of the fishing gears. Statistical tests also showed no association between the structure of the fish assemblage and strata, reinforcing the hypothesis of homogeneity of environments. However, the Shannon diversity index (H\') and evenness (J) were significantly different between the strata. The homogeneity of the environments can be explained by the PNPM being located in a wetland of high flooding, which can last up to eight months of a single hydrological cycle. Analyzed results indicate that the few dry months are not sufficient to generate environmental variability detectable by the methods used. The final IIBPNPM consists of nine metrics and three classes of biotic integrity: \"excellent\", \"regular\" and \"poor\", with specific ranges of scores. Most metrics are framed in \"excellent\" class, some in \"regular\" and none in \"poor\" one, which was expected because there was no evidence of environmental degradation within the PNPM. The fish community is well structured, rich and abundant. There was no significant difference in scores between IIBPNPM years (2010 and 2011). Although the location of PNPM cushions the effect of human impacts, they are present in a diffuse manner throughout the Pantanal, with various intensities and magnitudes. Allied to this, one should take into account that the PNPM is a nursery area for many fish species, and plays an essential role in the recruitment of fishery resources. Therefore, we emphatically recommend to the PNPM managers that implement an active monitoring program considering the fish assemblage as an indicator of ecological processes. The periodic performance of IIBPNPM can assist in summarizing information and to communicate the results to society.