Factors regulating diversity and abundance of fish communities in Pantanal lagoons, Brazil

• Published in: Fisheries management and ecology Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 45 - 50
• Main Authors: Súarez, Yzel Rondon, Petrere Júnior, Miguel, Catella, Agostinho Carlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01-02-2004
• Subjects: Brazil; diversity; floodplain lagoons; Freshwater; freshwater fish communities; Pantanal; Pisces; Brazil; Brazil, Mato Grosso, Pantanal
• ISSN: 0969-997X; 1365-2400
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2004.00347.x

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.