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Factors regulating diversity and abundance of fish communities in Pantanal lagoons, Brazil
Author(s) -
Súarez Yzel Rondon,
Petrere Miguel,
Catella Agostinho Carlos
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2004.00347.x
Subject(s) - species richness , abundance (ecology) , species evenness , floodplain , piscivore , ecology , macrophyte , habitat , species diversity , relative species abundance , geography , fishery , biology , predation , predator
The factors effecting fish species richness, evenness and relative abundance in 19 floodplain lagoons in the Pantanal (Brazil) were examined. Richness and evenness were strongly correlated with the lagoon's: (i) isolation time from the main river; (ii) depth; and (iii) distance from the main river. Abundance of the five dominant fish species was correlated mainly with: (a) macrophyte cover; (b) the distance from the main river; and (c) piscivore abundance. These results suggest that the species select lagoons to avoid or minimize their confinement in inappropriate floodplain habitats. A combination of strategies, together with variations in the lagoon's connection period, determines the diversity and abundance of the fish species in the Nhecolândia Pantanal.