Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Community assembly at the patch scale in a species rich tropical river

  • Community Ecology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In tropical floodplain rivers, communities associated with structurally complex habitats are disassembled and reassembled as aquatic organisms repeatedly colonize new areas in response to gradual but continuous changes in water level. Thus, a neutral model reflecting random colonization and extinction dynamics may be sufficient to predict assemblage patterns at the scale of local habitat patches. If water level fluctuations and associated patch dynamics are sufficiently predictable, however, community assembly on habitat patches also may be influenced by species-specific responses to habitat features and/or species interactions. We experimentally manipulated structural complexity and proximity to source habitat (which influences colonization rate) of simulated rocky patches in the littoral zone of a tropical lowland river and demonstrate significant effects of both factors on species density of fishes and macroinvertebrates. Interspecific variation in vagility significantly affected assemblage response to habitat complexity. In a second experiment, created habitat patches were sampled over time intervals ranging from 1 day to 36 days to examine temporal dynamics of community assembly. A null-model test revealed that assemblage structure became increasingly non-random, concomitant with increasing species density, over time. Community dynamics in newly formed habitat patches appeared to be dominated by dispersal, whereas in older patches, abundances of individual species increasingly were influenced by habitat characteristics. These data suggest that species-specific responses to environmental variation resulted, in part, because of species interactions. We conclude that community assembly in shallow habitats of this tropical lowland river is influenced by physical habitat characteristics, the spatial distribution of habitat patches, and species interactions as habitats are saturated with individuals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almany GR (2003) Priority effects in coral reef fish communities. Ecology 84:1920–1935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amoros C, Bornette G (2002) Connectivity and biocomplexity in waterbodies of riverine floodplains. Freshwater Biol 47:761–776

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angermeier PL, Winston MR (1998) Local vs. regional influences on local diversity in stream fish communities of Virginia. Ecology 79:911–927

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrington DA (2002) Evaluation of the relationship between habitat structure, community structure, and community assembly in a Neotropical blackwater river. In: Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, USA

  • Arrington DA, Winemiller KO (2003) Diel changeover in sand-beach fish assemblages in a Neotropical floodplain river. J Fish Biol 63:442–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell G, Lechowicz MJ, Waterway MJ (2001) The scale of local adaptation in forest plants. In: Silvertown JJ, Antonovics J (eds) Integrating ecology and evolution in a spatial context. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 117–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Bürnheim CM, Cox Fernandez C (2001) Low seasonal variation of fish assemblages in Amazonian rain forest streams. Ichthol Explor Freshwa 12:65–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Clements FE (1949) Dynamics of vegetation. Hafner, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox-Fernandez C (1999) Detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA) of electric fish assemblages in the Amazon. In: Val AL, Almeida-Val VMF (eds) Biology of tropical fishes. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Amazonicas, Manaus, pp 21–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebeling AW, Hixon MA (1991) Tropical and temperate reef fishes: comparison of community structures. In: Sale PF (ed) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Academic, London, pp 509–563

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ (2000) Null model analysis of species co-occurrence patterns. Ecology 81:2606–2621

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ, Colwell RK (2001) Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecol Lett 4:379–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ, Entsminger GL (2001) EcoSim: null models software for ecology. In Version 7.0 edn. Acquired Intelligence Inc. & Kesey-Bear

  • Gotelli NJ, McCabe DJ (2002) Species co-occurrence: a meta-analysis of JM Diamond’s assembly rules model. Ecology 83:2091–2096

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulding M, Carvalho ML, Ferreira EG (1988) Rio Negro: rich life in poor water. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman GD, Ratajczak RE Jr, Crawford M, Freeman MC (1998) Assemblage organization in stream fishes: effects of environmental variation and interspecific interactions. Ecol Monogr 68:395–420

    Google Scholar 

  • Hixon MA, Beets JP (1993) Predation, prey refuges, and the structure of coral-reef fish assemblages. Ecol Monogr 63:77–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz RJ (1978) Temporal variability patterns and the distributional patterns of stream fishes. Ecol Monogr 48:307–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubbell SP (2001) The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtt GC, Pacala SW (1995) The consequences of recruitment limitations: reconciling chance, history and competitive differences between plants. J Theoret Biol 176:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson DA, Peres-Neto PR, Olden JD (2001) What controls who is where in freshwater fish communities—the roles of biotic, abiotic, and spatial factors. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 58:157–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Junk WJ, Bayley PB, Sparks RE (1989) The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems. In: Dodge DP (ed) Proceedings of the international large rivers symposium vol 106. Canadian Special Publication Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, pp 110–127

  • Layman CA, Winemiller KO (2004) Size-based responses of prey to piscivore exclusion in a species-rich neotropical river. Ecology 85:1311–1320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe-McConnell RH (1964) The fishes of the Rupununi savanna district of British Guiana, Pt 1. Groupings of fish species and effects of the seasonal cycles on the fish. J Linnean Soc (Zoology) 45:103–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe-McConnell RH (1987) Ecological studies in tropical fish communities. Cambridge University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur RH (1970) Species packing and competitive equilibrium for many species. Theor Popul Biol 1:1–11

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur RH, Wilson EO (1967) The theory of island biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Sutherland JP (1987) Community regulation: variation in disturbance, competition, and predation in relation to environmental stress and recruitment. Am Nat 130:730–757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mérigoux S, Hugueny B, Ponton D, Statzner B, Vauchel P (1999) Predicting diversity of juvenile neotropical fish communities: patch dynamics versus habitat state in floodplain creeks. Oecologia 118:503–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oberdorff T, Hugueny B, Vigneron T (2001) Is assemblage variability related to environmental variability? An answer for riverine fish. Oikos 93:419–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olden JD, Jackson DA, Peres-Neto PR (2001) Spatial isolation and fish communities in drainage lakes. Oecologia 127:572–585

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petren K, Case TJ (1998) Habitat structure determines competition intensity and invasion success in gecko lizards. P Nat Acad Sci 95:11739–11744

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Petry P, Bayley PB, Markle DF (2003) Relationships between fish assemblages, macrophytes and environmental gradients in the Amazon River floodplain. J Fish Biol 63:547–579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poff NL, Allan JD (1995) Functional organization of stream fish assemblages in relation to hydrological variability. Ecology 76:606–627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Power ME (1984) Habitat quality and the distribution of algae-grazing catfish in a Panamanian stream. J Anim Ecol 53:357–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resh VH et al (1988) The role of disturbance in stream ecology. J North Am Benthol Soc 7:433–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson DR (1996) Interspecific competition controls abundance and habitat use of territorial Caribbean damselfishes. Ecology 77:885–899

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson CT, Tockner K, Ward JV (2002) The fauna of dynamic riverine landscapes. Freshwater Biol 47:661–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez MA, Lewis WM Jr (1997) Structure of fish assemblages along environmental gradients in floodplain lakes of the Orinoco River. Ecol Monogr 67:109–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross ST, Matthews WJ, Echelle AA (1985) Persistence of stream fish assemblages: effects of environmental variation. Am Nat 126:26–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sale PF, Douglas WA (1984) Temporal variability in the community structure of fish on coral patch reefs and the relation of community structure to reef structure. Ecology 65:409–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlosser IJ (1987) A conceptual framework for fish communities in small warmwater streams. In: Matthews WJ, Heins DC (eds) Community and evolutionary ecology of North American stream fishes. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, pp 17–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlosser IJ, Kallemeyn LW (2000) Spatial variation in fish assemblages across a beaver-influenced successional landscape. Ecology 81:1371–1382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoener TW (1988) Ecological interactions. In: Myers AA, Giller PS (eds) Analytical biogeography, an integrated approach to the study of animal and plant distributions. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 255–297

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman MJ, Ogden JC, Ebersole JP, McFarland WN, Miller SL, Wolf NG (1983) Priority effects in the recruitment of juvenile coral reef fishes. Ecology 64:1508–1513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simberloff DS, Wilson EO (1969) Experimental zoogeography of islands: the colonization of empty islands. Ecology 50:278–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone L, Roberts A (1990) The checkerboard score and species distributions. Oecologia 85:74–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone L, Roberts A (1992) Competitive exclusion, or species aggregation? An aid in deciding. Oecologia 91:419–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syms C, Jones GP (2000) Disturbance, habitat structure, and the dynamics of a coral-reef fish community. Ecology 81:2714–2729

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor CM (1996) Abundance and distribution within a guild of benthic stream fishes: local processes and regional patterns. Freshwater Biol 36:385–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor CM, Warren ML Jr (2001) Dynamics in species composition of stream fish assemblages: environmental variability and nested subsets. Ecology 82:2320–2330

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D (1994) Competition and biodiversity in spatially structured habitats. Ecology 75:2–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tonn WM, Magnuson JJ, Rask M, Toivonen J (1990) Intercontinental comparison of small-lake fish assemblages: the balance between local and regional processes. Am Nat 136:345–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend CR (1989) The patch dynamics concept of stream community ecology. J N Am Benthol Soc 8:36–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welcomme RL (1985) River fisheries. Food and Agriculture Organization Fisheries Technical Paper 262

  • Whittaker RH (1954) A consideration of climax theory: the climax as a population and pattern. Ecol Monogr 23:41–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis SC, Winemiller KO, Lopez Fernandez H (2005) Habitat structural complexity and morphological diversity of fish assemblages in a Neotropical floodplain river. Oecologia 142(2):284–295

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson JB (1999) Assembly rules in plant communities. In: Weiher E, Keddy P (eds) Ecological assembly rules: perspectives, advances, retreats. Cambridge University Press, London, pp 130–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Winemiller KO (1996) Dynamic diversity in fish assemblages of tropical rivers. In: Long-term studies of vertebrate communities. Academic, London

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank D. Taphorn and the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, UNELLEZ for logistic and taxonomic assistance. Jonathan Armbruster graciously verified our loricariid identifications. We thank M. Hixon, T. Lacher, and B. Langerhans for constructive comments on the manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge Tour Apure and members of the Cinaruco River Fishing Lodge for providing logistic accommodations. A. Medina, Walt Arrington, T. Hibbitts, and M. Woods provided assistance with sampling. Specimens were collected under legal authority of permits issued by Venezuela’s Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales Renovables. This research was supported by National Science Foundation grants DEB 0107456 and 0089834 and a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency STAR Fellowship.

Author information

Author notes

  1. D. Albrey Arrington

    Present address: Perry Institute for Marine Science, 100 N US Hwy 1, Jupiter, FL, 33477, USA

  2. Craig A. Layman

    Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520-8106, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2258, USA

    D. Albrey Arrington, Kirk O. Winemiller & Craig A. Layman

Authors
  1. D. Albrey Arrington
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kirk O. Winemiller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Craig A. Layman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Albrey Arrington.

Additional information

Communicated by Dan Simberloff

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Arrington, D.A., Winemiller, K.O. & Layman, C.A. Community assembly at the patch scale in a species rich tropical river. Oecologia 144, 157–167 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0014-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0014-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation