Effects of deforestation on headwater stream fish assemblages in the Upper Xingu River Basin, Southeastern Amazonia

Autor(es)

Ilha, Paulo ^{[1, 2]} ; Rosso, Sergio ^[1] ; Schiesari, Luis ^[3]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Rua Matao 321, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Inst Pesquisa Ambiental Amazonia, Rua Horizontina 104, BR-78640000 Canarana, MT - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Artes Ciencias & Humanidades, Gestao Ambiental, Rua Arlindo Bettio 1000, BR-03828000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Neotropical Ichthyology; v. 17, n. 1 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

ABSTRACT The expansion of the Amazonian agricultural frontier represents the most extensive land cover change in the world, detrimentally affecting stream ecosystems which collectively harbor the greatest diversity of freshwater fish on the planet. Our goal was to test the hypotheses that deforestation affects the abundance, richness, and taxonomic structure of headwater stream fish assemblages in the Upper Xingu River Basin, in Southeastern Amazonia. Standardized sampling surveys in replicated first order streams demonstrated that deforestation strongly influences fish assemblage structure. Deforested stream reaches had twice the fish abundance than reference stream reaches in primary forests. These differences in assemblage structure were largely driven by increases in the abundance of a handful of species, as no influence of deforestation on species richness was observed. Stream canopy cover was the strongest predictor of assemblage structure, possibly by a combination of direct and indirect effects on the provision of forest detritus, food resources, channel morphology, and micro-climate regulation. Given the dynamic nature of change in land cover and use in the region, this article is an important contribution to the understanding of the effects of deforestation on Amazonian stream fish, and their conservation. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 08/57939-9 - Impactos da expansão da agroindústria da cana-de-açúcar sobre comunidades aquáticas
• Beneficiário: Luis Cesar Schiesari
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOEN - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 11/20458-6 - Efeitos das mudanças no uso da terra na ecologia de peixes das cabeceiras do Rio Xingu
• Beneficiário: Paulo Ricardo Ilha Jiquiriçá
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado