Stream fish metacommunity and river network connectivity in the Serranias Costeiras of the Ribeira de Iguape River basin

• Grant number: 22/03525-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mauricio Cetra
• Grantee: Mauricio Cetra
• Host Investigator: Paulo José de Lemos Branco
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias para a Sustentabilidade (CCTS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract

The concept of metacommunities incorporates the influence of local and regional factors in the structuring of communities and has supported recent approaches related to patterns of distribution, abundance, and interactions between species. The mass effect model assumes that local and regional effects govern a community within this concept. A stream system presents a hierarchical dendritic network. For stream fish, the channel dispersion process reveals the importance of regional factors on the structure of metacommunities. At the same time, the heterogeneity of habitats acts locally, which may show boundaries between metacommunities. Distinguishing these communities is of great interest for conservation purposes and defining biomonitoring strategies. The present study aims to verify if there is an effect of small hydropower plants (PCHs) on the structure of fish communities in streams. The study will be carried out in 16 micro-basins belonging to the Ribeira de Iguape River Basin. Ichthyofauna was collected during the dry period of 2018-2019 using electrofishing standard protocols. Study sites were selected at micro-basins affected by PCHs and at similar reference (without PCHs) micro-basins. (AU)