Fish assemblages in temporary ponds adjacent to 'terra-firme' streams in Central Amazonia

• Published in: Freshwater biology Vol. 51; no. 6; pp. 1025 - 1037
• Main Authors: PAZIN, VICTOR F. V., MAGNUSSON, WILLIAM E., ZUANON, JANSEN, MENDONÇA, FERNANDO P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2006; Blackwell Science; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Brazilian Amazon; community structure; Fresh water ecosystems; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Intermittent lakes; nested subsets; Pisces; spatial scales; species composition; Synecology; temporary waters; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; South America; America; Amazon Basin; BRAZIL, AMAZONAS, AMAZON R; South America, Amazonia; Community structure; temporary waters; Stagnant pool; Brazilian Amazon; Freshwater environment; Aquatic environment; Vertebrata; Temporary water; spatial scales; Hydrobiology; Animal community; Pisces; Amazonia; Stream; nested subsets; Species richness; species composition; Ecological abundance
• ISSN: 0046-5070; 1365-2427
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2006.01552.x

Summary 1. The effect of habitat structural features and physicochemical characteristics of the water on the composition and richness of fish assemblages in temporary ponds near streams were examined at three spatial scales: among ponds, among streams and between drainage basins, in a ‘terra‐firme’ (not subject to long‐term flooding) forest reserve in Central Amazonia. 2. The fish assemblage in temporary ponds was composed of subsets of 18 small‐bodied species widely distributed in the reserve. The assemblages had a nested subset structure, where smaller ponds contained subgroups of the species found in larger ponds. 3. Species composition and richness in temporary ponds were similar between drainage basins, although the fish assemblages in streams differed between basins. 4. Fish assemblage structure was influenced by local factors related to habitat structure, such as pond area and depth, canopy cover and hydroperiod. Physicochemical characteristics of the water in the ponds were similar between drainage basins and had little detectable effect on the structure of pond fish assemblages. 5. No correspondence was found between the composition, richness or abundance of fishes in the ponds and in stretches of the streams adjacent to the ponds. Therefore, it is not possible to predict the composition of these temporary pond fish assemblages from the fish assemblages found in adjacent streams.