Development of habitat suitability criteria for Neotropical stream fishes and an assessment of their transferability to streams with different conservation status

Abstract

We assessed the preference of 10 fish species for depth and velocity conditions in forested streams from southeastern Brazil using habitat suitability criteria (HSC curves). We also tested whether preference patterns observed in forested streams can be transferred to deforested streams. We used data from fish sampled in 62 five-meter sites in three forested streams to construct preference curves. Astyanax altiparanae, A. fasciatus, Knodus moenkhausii, and Piabina argentea showed a preference for deep slow habitats, whereas Aspidoras fuscoguttatus, Characidium zebra, Cetopsorhamdia iheringi, Pseudopimelodus pulcher, and Hypostomus nigromaculatus showed an opposite pattern: preference for shallow fast habitats. Hypostomus ancistroides showed a multimodal pattern of preference for depth and velocity. To evaluate whether patterns observed in forested streams may be transferred to deforested streams, we sampled 64 five-meters sites in three deforested streams using the same methodology. The preference for velocity was more consistent than for depth, as success in the transferability criterion was 86% and 29% of species, respectively. This indicates that velocity is a good predictor of species abundance in streams, regardless of their condition.Neste estudo avaliamos a preferência de 10 espécies de peixes por condições de profundidade e fluxo em riachos florestados do sudeste do Brasil por meio do critério de adequabilidade de habitat (habitat suitability criteria -curvas HSC). Testamos também se os padrões de preferência observados nos riachos florestados podem ser transferidos para riachos desmatados. Foram realizadas amostragens da ictiofauna em 62 trechos de cinco metros de extensão em três riachos florestados para a construção das curvas de preferência. Astyanax altiparanae, A. fasciatus, Knodus moenkhausii e Piabina argentea apresentaram preferência por habitats lentos e profundos, enquanto Aspidoras fuscoguttatus, Characidium zebra, Cetopsorhamdia iheringi, Pseudopimelodus pulcher e Hypostomus nigromaculatus apresentaram um padrão oposto de preferência por habitats rasos e de fluxo rápido. Hypostomus ancistroides apresentou um padrão de preferência por profundidade e fluxo multimodal. Para avaliar se os padrões observados nos riachos florestados podem ser transferidos para riachos desmatados foram realizadas amostragens da ictiofauna em 64 trechos de cinco metros de extensão em três riachos desmatados utilizando a mesma metodologia aplicada aos riachos florestados. O sucesso na transferência do critério foi de 86% e 29% para fluxo e profundidade, ou seja, a preferência por fluxo foi mais consistente do que por profundidade. Isso indica que o fluxo é um bom preditor da abundância das espécies em riachos, independentemente do seu estado de conservação.

Application of the physical habitat simulation for fish species to assess environmental flows in an Atlantic Forest Stream in South-eastern Brazil

“…Seasons of high flow, with larger habitat heterogeneity, mean velocity, depth and position in the water column can be fundamental to understand the habitat partitioning in the fish community, as it was demonstrated for three different fish species in Iberian streams with larger habitat variability (MartinezCapel et al, 2009). We consider that habitat partitioning is a relevant aspect of further research on the ecology of Neotropical fish communities, which could be addressed in future studies under a wide range of flow conditions (Leal et al, 2011;Costa et al, 2013;Teresa & Casatti, 2013). Physical habitat simulation encompasses characteristics of low and high water level, favoring more tolerant species in dry season, and more competitive species in wet season when a wide range of microhabitats are available.…”

“…According to Wootton (1998) heterogeneous systems supply a large variety of microhabitats with sites where fish species can shelter against predators and find a wide variety of feeding resources and places for reproduction. Recently, some studies using habitat simulation models have reinforced that physical habitat variables and cover availability determine patterns of habitat use in rivers and streams (Lee & Suen, 2012;Costa et al, 2012;Teresa & Casatti, 2013;Costa et al, 2013). However, the capability of prediction of these models depends on the understanding of how the species respond to environmental gradient conditions.…”

“…Studies developing HSCs for Neotropical fish species are rare in Brazil (Pelissari & Sarmento, 2003;Leal et al, 2011;Costa et al, 2013;Teresa & Casatti, 2013) and their results are incipient in relation to the use of such curves for physical habitat simulation to determine the minimum flow for a river or stream. Moreover, some concerns should be raised because changes in natural flow regimes are occurring in a disorderly manner, and hydrological alteration is among the main anthropogenic threats to conservation of Neotropical fish species in lotic systems (Barletta et al, 2010 (Bowen et al, 2001;Armstrong et al, 2001;Martínez-Capel et al, 2009Muñoz-Mas et al, 2014a).…”

Environmental constraints structuring fish assemblages in riffles: evidences from a tropical stream

“…Despite the scarcity of evidences relating to trait-environment relationship in the riffle-scale, we could expect, for example, a higher contribution of drift items (e.g. allochthonous invertebrates and plant material) in the fish diet in deeper and slower velocity riffles, as these conditions are suitable for water column drift feeders species (Teresa & Casatti, 2013). In addition, the higher contribution of periphytivorous species in riffles with rock and boulder substrate could be expected, since benthic algae biomass is known to be positively correlated with coarsegrained substrate (Munn et al, 2010).…”

Habitat preferences of common native fishes in a tropical river in Southeastern Brazil

“…Most knowledge of this subject is based on native nongame fish habitat preferences for temperate freshwaters (Moyle & Baltz, 1985;Lamouroux et al, 1999;Vadas & Orth, 2000Boavida et al, 2006). However, with the exception of a few studies (e.g., Bührnheim, 2002;Leal et al, 2011;Teresa & Casatti, 2013), little effort has been made to understand habitat preferences by fish in tropical rivers. Instream habitat preferences are often used to assess flow requirements for fish, usually based on instream flow incremental methodology (IFIM; Bovee, 1982).…”