Species composition and spatial distribution of a stream fish assemblage in the east coast of Brazil: comparison of two field study methodologies

Abstract

The species composition and spatial distribution of a fish assemblage were studied in three reaches of a river in the east coast of Brazil: a section of rapids (upper), another of water flowing on plain terrain (lowland) and the other of a mangrove environment. Two methods were employed with the purpose of estimating their effectiveness in naturalistic studies of tropical fish assemblages. One method consisted of underwater observations and the other was characterized by catches using gears such as fish traps, sieves and fishing rods. Both methods showed that their effectiveness is dependent upon the characteristics of the environment and the biology of the species. In areas of high water transparency and flow speed rocky substrate and no submerged marginal vegetation (upper reach), the employment of the traditional gears was quite inefficient, despite the excellent conditions for underwater observations. In areas of clear water and high flow speed with abundant submerged marginal vegetation (lowland and mangrove), the gears were rather efficient yielding excellent results when coupled with direct observation methods. Since the abiotic characteristics of a stream change longitudinally, it is appropriate to employ different methods in the study of the ichthyofauna composition and distribution in order to reduce the constraints imposed by sampling methods in running waters.

Ecology of a stream from upper Paraná River basin inhabited by Aspidoras fuscoguttatus Nijssen & Isbrüker, 1976 (Siluriformes, Callichthyidae)

“…Uieda (1984) investigating the seasonal, spatial and temporal distribution of fish fauna in a stream in the same basin also had more success with the use of sieves. In the present research, the low depth, small size of specimens and abundant aquatic macrophytes, especially during the rainy season, probably contributed to achieve satisfactory results with sieves, because the efficiency of sampling methods depends on habitat features and biology of species (Uieda & Uieda, 2001). The Neotropical ichthyofauna presents the most diversified and richest freshwater ichthyofauna of the world (Böhlke et al, 1978).…”

Checklist of freshwater ichthyofauna from coastal streams of Juréia-Itatins reserve, southeastern Brazil

“…The family Characidae was predominant ( Figure 5), mainly due to the abundance of Astyanax ribeirae, Mimagoniates microlepis, and Hollandichthys multifasciatus. The freshwater fish fauna in the sampled streams in JIES is similar to other Brazilian coastal basins, with the predominance of Characiformes and/or Siluriformes (Sabino and Castro 1990;Mazzoni and Lobón-Cerviá 2000;Esteves and Lobón-Cerviá 2001;Uieda and Uieda 2001;Gerhard et al 2004;Serra et al 2007;Ferreira and Petrere Jr. 2009;Guimarães et al 2010;Mattox and Iglesias 2010), and confirms with what is expected in freshwater environments included in the studied region (Lévêque et al 2008). The representation of the Characidae species was also expected, since this family is one of the most species-rich in the Neotropical region (Reis et al 2003).…”

“…In addition, the occurrence of marine-estuarine species in coastal streams decreases as the distance from the estuary increases (Leung and Camargo 2005). Nevertheless, A. tajasica was found in distant reaches with little or no marine influence in two streams at JIES, as recorded by Uieda and Uieda (2001), Sabino and Silva (2004), and Guimarães et al (2010) in other Brazilian coastal streams. …”

Composition and structure of fish assemblage from Passa Cinco stream, Corumbataí river sub-basin, SP, Brazil

“…Spatial patterns of species distribution have been addressed in several studies (Uieda, 1984;Garutti, 1988;Uieda and Barreto, 1999;Silvano et al, 2000;Mazzoni and Lobón-Cerviá, 2000;Uieda and Uieda, 2001;Pavanelli and Caramaschi, 2003;Castro et al, 2003;Súarez and Petrere, 2003;Súarez and Petrere, 2005;Castro et al, 2004;Casatti, 2005;Braga and Andrade, 2005;Cetra and Petrere, 2006) that, in general, reported an increase in species diversity since the headwaters to the mouth in fish communities at different locations. The relationship between habitat and community composition was presented by Montag et al (1997), Benedito-Cecilio et al (2004) and Gomiero and Braga (2006), which showed the correlations between habitat diversity and general conditions in the environment.…”