Seasonal fluctuations in taxonomic and functional diversity in assemblages of catfishes in the Venezuelan Arauca River

[lfinley58]

Echevarria, G., Rodriguez & Machado-Allison, A. 2017. Seasonal fluctuations in taxonomic and functional diversity in assemblages of catfishes in the Venezuelan Arauca River Floodplain. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. Published online October 12, 2017. Pp. 1-16.
Abstract:
The Arauca River harbors a considerable fish biodiversity, yet it remains poorly sampled and the knowledge about its fish communities is incomplete. We studied the taxonomic and functional composition and diversity of catfish assemblages in one lotic and one lentic habitat of a segment of this floodplain during one hydrological cycle, from August 2014 to August 2015, comprising six samplings using gillnets, and identified the relationships between catfish traits and the environment based on five limnological variables. The functional structure was studied through 11 morphological measures and the species diets. We identified 31 catfish species and nine trophic groups. There were significant differences in species composition and diversity between habitats and months, but the functional structure of the catfishes was only determined by the temporal variability. The functional structure of the catfish assemblages was ordered by morphological traits related to locomotion, habitat use, and trophic ecology and these traits were correlated with the limnological variables, supporting the existence of environmental filters. Integrating the taxonomic and functional perspectives can provide a more complete picture of the ecological patterns of freshwater fish assemblages in the Neotropics and can help us predict how these assemblages might change in response to anthropogenic alterations of the environment.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10. ... 17.1387426