Amazonian Ecology: Tributaries Enhance the Diversity of Electric Fishes

@article{Fernandes2004AmazonianET,
  title={Amazonian Ecology: Tributaries Enhance the Diversity of Electric Fishes},
  author={Cristina Cox Fernandes and Jeffrey Podos and John G. Lundberg},
  journal={Science},
  year={2004},
  volume={305},
  pages={1960 - 1962}
}
Neotropical rivers support a diverse array of endemic taxa, including electric fishes of the order Gymnotiformes. A comprehensive survey of the main channels of the Amazon River and its major tributaries (>2000-kilometer transect) yielded 43 electric fish species. Biogeographical analyses suggest that local mainstem electric fish diversity is enhanced by tributaries. Mainstem species richness tends to increase downstream of tributary confluences, and species composition is most similar between… 

Where Rivers Meet

Although the diversity of terrestrial species of the Amazon basin is well documented, aquatic species inhabiting the Amazon River and its tributaries have been little studied. In their Perspective,

Pisces, Aquidauana and Miranda drainages, upper Paraguay River basin, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

A high regional richness is reported and the necessity for the preservation of the lotic environments of the Cerrado is reinforced, with homogeneous assemblages dominated by nektonic species.

A New Species of Deep-channel Electric Knifefish Compsaraia (Apteronotidae, Gymnotiformes) from the Amazon River

A new species of apteronotid, from the Amazon River in Brazil, is described and a new diagnosis is provided for the genus Compsaraia, which is readily distinguished from congeners by a short, rounded snout and small, subterminal mouth with reduced dentition.

Spatial and seasonal variation of benthic fish assemblages in whitewater rivers of Central Amazon

Abstract Despite the high number of fish species described for the Amazon region, the ichthyofauna that inhabits the depths of the main channels of large tropical rivers is one of the least known. In

Longitudinal changes and indicator species of the fish fauna in the subtropical Sinos River, Brazil

Investigation of the fish fauna in the subtropical Sinos River considered species addition and replacement and the occurrence of indicator species along a longitudinal gradient, finding nine species were characteristic for the headwater reach and 14 species for the lowland reach.

Ichthyofaunal survey of stretches of the Guariba and Rooselvelt Rivers, in Guariba State Park and Guariba Extractive Reserve, Madeira River basin, Amazonas, Brazil

This study represents the first fish survey for the region and will certainly provide valuable information for future studies and maintenance of the poorly known fish diversity of these two conservation areas.

Conditional effects of aquatic insects of small tributaries on mainstream assemblages: position within drainage network matters

Tributaries may affect fauna in a mainstream by changing bottom substrate and increasing spatial heterogeneity. Additionally, we hypothesized that fauna in the mainstream may be affected by drifting

A Review of the South American Electric Fish Genus Porotergus (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae) with the Description of a New Species

Porotergus duende and P. gimbeli are restricted to deep channel habitats, while Porotergus gymnotus occurs in shallow rivers.

Effects of a major Amazonian river confluence on the distribution of floodplain forest avifauna

Although ‘river color’ or water type is an important determinant of Amazonian floodplain biodiversity, the relevance of mixing distinct water types at river confluences to the distribution of

Riverine networks constrain β‐diversity patterns among fish assemblages in a large Neotropical river

Examination of fish assemblages in the Upper Tocantins River, Amazon Basin revealed that fish metacommunity in this large river shows species turnover, but with high functional similarity, which indicates that the dendritic network constrained metacomunity structure.
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 46 REFERENCES

Influence of Tributary Spatial Position on the Structure of Warmwater Fish Communities

Downstream link (incorporating both stream size and size of stream at the next downstream confluence) explained the greatest portion of the variance, which suggests that downstream processes significantly influence the structure of fish communities inhabiting warmwater streams.

Sex-Related Morphological Variation in Two Species of Apteronotid Fishes (Gymnotiformes) from the Amazon River Basin

The detection of sexual dimorphism can help to clarify the species-level taxonomy and stresses the importance of considering sex differences.

Longitudinal Zonation of Sandy Beach Fishes in the Napo River Basin, Eastern Ecuador

Fishes on sandy beaches at 19 sites along two parallel headwater tributaries of the upper Amazon were sampled to correlate longitudinal patterns of ichthyofaunal composition with environmental factors, and to determine altitudinal changes in alpha (within-site) diversity variables.

River Boundaries and Species Range Size in Amazonian Primates

The role of rivers in delineating the ranges of Amazonian primate species is investigated and the extent to which differences in river size affect he chance that rivers will coincide withPrimate species' boundaries is investigated; and differences in the body size of primates influence the chance that they will occur on both sides of different rivers.

Patterns in Freshwater Fish Ecology

Effect of fish in ecosystems, competition, mixed species benefits and coevolution, and interactive factors: predation effects in fish assemblages on global to regional zoogeography on local fishassemblages.

Lateral migration of fishes in Amazon floodplains

Lateral migrations of fish in this ecosystem appear to be closely linked to breeding and to physical habitat changes related to river water level.

Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities

A ‘silver bullet’ strategy on the part of conservation planners, focusing on ‘biodiversity hotspots’ where exceptional concentrations of endemic species are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat, is proposed.

Magosternarchus, a New Genus with Two New Species of Electric Fishes (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae) from the Amazon River Basin, South America

A new group of predaceous apteronotid electric fishes is described from recent trawl collections made in large, white- and black-water river channels of the Amazon Basin in Brazil and shared features of the ethmoid and jaw bones, mesopterygoid, opercle, gillrakers, basibranchials, and infraorbital laterosensory canal suggest that Magosternarchus is most closely related to Sternarchella.

Backwater effects in the Amazon River basin of Brazil

The Amazon River mainstem of Brazil is so regulated by differences in the timing of tributary inputs and by seasonal storage of water on floodplains that maximum discharges exceed minimum discharges

Biogeochemistry of major World rivers

Spatial variability of river plumes and eutrophication, K.H.Szekielda and D.McGinnis remote sensing of water substances in rivers, estuarine and coastal waters, J.Fischer et al the biogeochemistry of