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Contrasting continental patterns and drivers of taxonomic and functional turnover among fish assemblages across Brazilian reservoirs

  • PERSPECTIVES ON SUSTAINABLE HYDRO-POWER
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Abstract

In this paper, we investigated composition and trait turnover among fish assemblages in reservoirs distributed across major Brazilian basins, in order to contrast taxonomic and functional turnover and to investigate their respective drivers. We investigated the hypothesis that reservoir assemblages present, on a continental scale, divergent species compositions but with a similar set of traits. Species lists and functional traits were compiled from 79 reservoirs located in the Amazon, São Francisco, Paraná and Atlantic basins. We observed considerable variation in species and trait composition among reservoirs, with higher intra-basin similarity. Taxonomic turnover ranged between 0 and 1 (0.44 ± 0.22 SD), and functional turnover between 0 and 0.91 (0.37 ± 0.19); functional turnover correlated positively with taxonomic turnover, but showed lower values. Observed functional turnover values did not differ from null expectations, indicating lack of functional convergence. We detected significant effects of basin, longitude, latitude and elevation on turnover values, and the presence of non-native species was associated with either homogenization or differentiation patterns. Our results indicated that fish composition is heterogeneous among impoundments, providing little support to the hypothesis that reservoir assemblages are homogenized on a continental scale. Species and trait composition probably respond to multiple spatial, environmental and biogeographic factors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Núcleo de Estudos Ambientais (Universidade Federal do Tocantins) and Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Ecologia e Conservação (antigo Ecologia de Ecótonos) for providing infrastructure and support. We also thank Elaine A. Luiz (Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná), Paulo S. Pompeu (Universidade Federal de Lavras) and Efrem J.G. Ferreira (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia) for providing information on functional traits. We are deeply indebted to Angelo A. Agostinho (Universidade Estadual de Maringá) for providing unpublished data on 31 reservoirs. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPEs) provided a scholarship for L.S.D. and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) provided research Grants for F.M.P. and W.J.G.

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  1. Núcleo de Estudos Ambientais, Universidade Federal de Tocantins, Rua 3, Quadra 17, Jardim dos Ipês, Porto Nacional, Tocantins, 77500-000, Brazil

    Fernando Mayer Pelicice & Carlos Sérgio Agostinho

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ecótonos (current Biodiversidade, Ecologia e Conservação), Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Porto Nacional, Tocantins, Brazil

    Luciana da Silva Damasceno

  3. Escola Família Agrícola de Porto Nacional, EFA, Porto Nacional, Tocantins, Brazil

    Luciana da Silva Damasceno

  4. Laboratório de Ecologia de Comunidades e Paisagens, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

    Eveline de Almeida Ferreira & Rodrigo Fernandes

  5. Departamento de Biologia, Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais e Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura (NUPELIA, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Weferson Júnio da Graça

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Pelicice, F.M., da Silva Damasceno, L., de Almeida Ferreira, E. et al. Contrasting continental patterns and drivers of taxonomic and functional turnover among fish assemblages across Brazilian reservoirs. Hydrobiologia 849, 373–384 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04388-7

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