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Local and regional ecological drivers of fish assemblages in Brazilian estuaries

2013; Inter-Research; Volume: 485; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/meps10343

1616-1599

CC Vilar, J.‐C. Joyeux, Tommaso Giarrizzo, Henry Louis Spach, JP Vieira, Teodoro Vaske Júnior,

Fish biology, ecology, and behavior

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 485:181-197 (2013) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10343 Local and regional ecological drivers of fish assemblages in Brazilian estuaries Ciro C. Vilar1,*, Jean-Christophe Joyeux2, Tommaso Giarrizzo3, Henry L. Spach1, João P. Vieira4, Teodoro Vaske-Junior5,6 1Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, Centro de Estudos do Mar, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Pontal do Sul, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná 83255-976, Brazil 2Laboratório de Ictiologia, Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Goiabeiras, Vitória, Espírito Santo 29075-910, Brazil 3Laboratório de Biologia Pesqueira e Manejo de Recursos Aquáticos, Universidade Federal do Pará, Terra Firme, Belém, Pará 66040-170, Brazil 4Laboratório de Ictiologia, Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul 96201-900, Brazil 5Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dois Irmão, Recife, Pernambuco 52171-900, Brazil 6Present address: Laboratório de Elasmobrânquios, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Parque Bitaru, São Vicente, São Paulo 11330-900, Brazil *Email: cirovilar@nativa.org.br ABSTRACT: Spatial patterns in assemblage structures are generated by ecological processes that occur on multiple scales. Identifying these processes is important for the prediction of impact, for restoration and for conservation of biodiversity. This study used a hierarchical sampling design to quantify variations in assemblage structures of Brazilian estuarine fish across 2 spatial scales and to reveal the ecological processes underlying the patterns observed. Eight areas separated by 0.7 to 25 km (local scale) were sampled in 5 estuaries separated by 970 to 6000 km (regional scale) along the coast, encompassing both tropical and subtropical regions. The assemblage structure varied significantly in terms of relative biomass and presence/absence of species on both scales, but the regional variation was greater than the local variation for either dataset. However, the 5 estuaries sampled segregated into 2 major groups largely congruent with the Brazilian and Argentinian biogeographic provinces. Three environmental variables (mean temperature of the coldest month, mangrove area and mean annual precipitation) and distance between estuaries explained 44.8 and 16.3%, respectively, of the regional-scale variability in the species relative biomass. At the local scale, the importance of environmental predictors for the spatial structure of the assemblages differed between estuarine systems. Overall, these results support the idea that on a regional scale, the composition of fish assemblages is simultaneously determined by environmental filters and species dispersal capacity, while on a local scale, the effect of environmental factors should vary depending on estuary-specific physical and hydrological characteristics. KEY WORDS: Fish communities · Estuarine fish · Spatial patterns · Multi-scale · Atlantic Ocean · Brazil Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Vilar CC, Joyeux JC, Giarrizzo T, Spach HL, Vieira JP, Vaske-Junior T (2013) Local and regional ecological drivers of fish assemblages in Brazilian estuaries. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 485:181-197. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10343 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 485. Online publication date: June 27, 2013 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2013 Inter-Research.