A comparison of fish diversity and abundance between nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor lakes in the Upper Amazon

Henderson, Peter; Crampton, William G. R.

doi:10.1017/s0266467400010403

Cited by 73 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Likewise, more productive white water river areas have higher species numbers and biomass of fish than black water river areas (79). An apparent exception to this pattern may be that, in deeply inundated areas along river channels (várzea and igapó), total litterfall is lower than in adjacent terra firme forests (80-82); however, the component of litterfall made up by reproductive parts is still higher near the rivers than in adjacent uplands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Primate species richness is determined by plant productivity: Implications for conservation

Kay

Madden

Schaik

et al. 1997

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

200

126

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The explanation of patterns in species richness ranks among the most important tasks of ecology. Current theories emphasize the interaction between historical and geographical factors affecting the size of the regional species pool and of locally acting processes such as competitive exclusion, disturbance, productivity, and seasonality. Local species richness, or alpha diversity, of plants and primary consumers has been claimed to peak in habitats of low and intermediate productivity, which, if true, has major implications for conservation. Here, by contrast, we show that local richness of Neotropical primates (platyrrhines) is inf luenced by both historical biogeography and productivity but not by tree species richness or seasonality. This pattern indicates that habitats with the highest plant productivity are also the richest for many important primary consumers. We show further that fragmentation of Amazonian rain forests in the Pleistocene, if it occurred, appears to have had a negligible inf luence on primate alpha species richness.Patterns of local animal species richness have been suggested to be causally related to tree species richness, plant productivity, seasonality, habitat heterogeneity, and historical͞ geographical factors (1-5). However, because there are very few sites for which all variables have been measured, the independent effect of these possible causal factors has so far not been assessed. Here, we circumvent this problem by examining the correlations of these variables with an intermediate variable, local rainfall.Previous studies from various tropical regions reported a monotonic increase in richness with rainfall (6-9). However, these studies sampled very few sites with annual rainfall of over 2500 mm and͞or analyzed the relationship using linear regression and were therefore unable to test more complex hypotheses of relationship. We have gathered new data for Neotropical primate richness through a broader range of rainfall levels. Fig.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Primate species richness is determined by plant productivity: Implications for conservation

Kay

Madden

Schaik

et al. 1997

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

200

126

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“…Most fish species exhibit a decrease in size at first sexual maturation (along with a reduction in other growth patterns) as a result of changes in population densities. Whitewater bodies, such as várzea lakes, harbor many species of aquatic predators that might add new sources of mortality (Henderson & Crampton 1997). The increase in mortality rates may cause a reduction in size at first sexual maturation as a compensatory response (Rose et al 2001).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive aspects of the flag cichlid Mesonauta insignis in várzea lakes of the Central Brazilian Amazon

Silva¹,

Lima²,

Prado-Valladares³

et al. 2015

Aquat. Biol.

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We describe the most important reproductive aspects of the flag cichlid Mesonauta insignis in the floodplain (várzea) lakes of the Central Brazilian Amazon. Between September 2005 and August 2006, fish were collected monthly from mattresses of aquatic macrophytes. Biometric measurements as well as macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the gonads were performed. Standard body lengths ranged from 2.4 to 9.3 cm, and weight−length relationships were indicative of isometric growth patterns. Reproduction events were detected in all months, but the gonadosomatic index indicated a reproductive season from October to February (during low and rising water periods), reaching a reproductive peak in February. Average fecundity was 1184 ± 40.82 (mean ± SD) mature oocytes. M. insignis exhibits an asynchronous oocytal development, characteristic of multiple spawnings. Morphological and histological analyses indicated 5 gonadal maturation stages for females. Average standard length at first sexual maturation was 5.18 cm for females and 5.5 cm for males. M. insignis shows late sexual maturation. Taken together, these aspects suggest that a life history strategy of 'equilibrium' predominates in the species; consequently, M. insignis can be considered vulnerable to high extraction rates, and can only be exploited sustainably if adequate precautionary management procedures are adopted. Some management measures are suggested for the exploitation of this species in the Central Amazon.

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“…Because many of these tolerant species are facultative detritivores (see Table 2), their decline may be linked to reduced detrital mass (availability) or its nutritional value following reduced planktonic production; in the west basin, phytoplankton biomass has declined by ~65% Bertram 1991, Makarewicz 1993b), whereas crustacean zooplankton biomass has declined by as much as 60% (Makarewicz and Bertram 1991, Makarewicz 1993a, Weisgerber 2000. Given that reduced species detrital mass has been linked to reduced species diversity (e.g., species richness) in other systems , Nakashima et al 1977, Henderson and Crampton 1997, further exploration of this mechanism is warranted. Fig.…”

Section: The Species Richness-productivity Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life After Death in Lake Erie: Nutrient Controls Drive Fish Species Richness, Rehabilitation

Ludsin

Kershner

Blocksom

et al. 2001

Ecological Applications

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We explored the recent dynamics of fish communities within Lake Erie, a system formerly degraded by eutrophication and now undergoing oligotrophication owing to phosphorus abatement programs. By merging bottom trawl data from two lake basins of contrasting productivity with life-history information (i.e., tolerances to environmental degradation, diet and temperature preferences), we examined (1) the relationship between system productivity and species richness, (2) whether fish communities are resilient to eutrophication, and (3) whether oligotrophication necessarily leads to reduced sport and commercial fish production. Reduced phosphorus loading has led to fish community rehabilitation. In the productive west basin, six species tolerant of eutrophy (i.e., anoxia, turbidity) declined in abundance, whereas the abundance of three intolerant species increased through time. In the less productive central basin, although only one tolerant species declined, four species intolerant of eutrophic conditions recovered with oligotrophication. These differential responses appear to derive from dissimilar mechanisms by which reduced productivity alters habitat and resource availability for fishes. Specifically, enhanced bottom oxygen, combined with reduced biogenic turbidity and sedimentation, likely drove the loss of tolerant species in the west basin by reducing detrital mass or the ability of these species to compete with intolerant species under conditions of improved water clarity. In contrast, reduced bottom anoxia, which enhanced availability of cool-and cold-water habitat and benthic macroinvertebrate communities, appears important to the recovery of intolerant species in the central basin. Ultimately, these productivity-induced shifts caused species richness to decline in Lake Erie's west basin and to increase in its central basin. Beyond confirming that unimodal models of productivity and species diversity can describe fish community change in a recovering system, our results provide optimism in an otherwise dismal state of affairs in fisheries management (e.g., overexploitation), given that many recovering intolerant species are desired sport or commercial fishes.

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A comparison of fish diversity and abundance between nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor lakes in the Upper Amazon

Cited by 73 publications

References 15 publications

Primate species richness is determined by plant productivity: Implications for conservation

Primate species richness is determined by plant productivity: Implications for conservation

Reproductive aspects of the flag cichlid Mesonauta insignis in várzea lakes of the Central Brazilian Amazon

Life After Death in Lake Erie: Nutrient Controls Drive Fish Species Richness, Rehabilitation

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