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Shamaskin AC, Correa SB, Street GM, Linhoss AC, Evans KO. Considering the influence of land use/land cover on estuarine biotic richness with Bayesian hierarchical models. Ecol Appl 2022; 32:e2675. [PMID: 35581947 PMCID: PMC9786285 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The composition of land use/land cover (LULC) in coastal watersheds has many implications for estuarine system ecological function. Land use/land cover can influence allochthonous inputs and can enhance or degrade the physical characteristics of estuaries, which in turn affects estuaries' ability to support local biota. However, these implications for estuaries are often poorly considered when assessing the value of lands for conservation. The focus of research regarding terrestrial and estuarine interfaces often evaluates how LULC may stress estuarine ecosystems, but in this study we sought to understand how LULC may both positively and negatively affect estuaries using measures of observed biotic richness as proxies for estuarine function. We investigated the influence of LULC on estuarine biotic richness with Bayesian hierarchical models using multiple geospatial data sets from 33 estuaries and their associated watersheds along the Gulf of Mexico coastal region of the United States. We designed the hierarchical models with observed species richness of three functional groups (FGs) (i.e., pelagic fishes, forage fishes, and shrimp) from fishery-independent trawl surveys as response variables. We then set salinity and water temperature as trawl-specific covariates and measures of influence from six LULC classes as estuary-specific covariates and allowed the models to vary by estuary, trawl program, salinity, and temperature. The model results indicated that the observed richness of each FG was both positively and negatively associated with different LULC classes, with estuarine wetlands and forested lands demonstrating the strongest positive influences on each FG. The results are generally consistent with past studies, and the modeling framework provides a promising way to systematically quantify LULC linkages with the biotic health of estuaries for the purposes of potentially valuing the estuarine implications of land conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Challen Shamaskin
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and AquacultureMississippi State UniversityMississippi StateMississippiUSA
| | - Sandra B. Correa
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and AquacultureMississippi State UniversityMississippi StateMississippiUSA
| | - Garrett M. Street
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and AquacultureMississippi State UniversityMississippi StateMississippiUSA
| | - Anna C. Linhoss
- Department of Agricultural and Biological EngineeringMississippi State UniversityMississippi StateMississippiUSA
| | - Kristine O. Evans
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and AquacultureMississippi State UniversityMississippi StateMississippiUSA
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Prestes L, Barthem R, Mello-Filho A, Anderson E, Correa SB, Couto TBD, Venticinque E, Forsberg B, Cañas C, Bentes B, Goulding M. Proactively averting the collapse of Amazon fisheries based on three migratory flagship species. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0264490. [PMID: 35235610 PMCID: PMC8890642 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory species are the most important commercial fishes in the Amazon. They are also now the most threatened directly by some combination of overfishing, floodplain deforestation, and dam construction. Limited governmental monitoring and implemented regulations impede adequate management of the fisheries at adequate scale. We summarize the current stock status of the three most heavily exploited long-distance migratory species, which are two goliath catfishes (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii and B. vaillantii) and the characiform Colossoma macropomum. In addition, we analyze impacts beyond overfishing on these species. Our results indicate: (i) the overfishing trends for these important species are either ominous or indicate the verge of collapse of the commercial fisheries based on them, and (ii) a dangerous synergy between overfishing, hydroelectric dams, and floodplain deforestation further challenge fisheries management of migratory species in the Amazon. We propose eight direct governmental actions as a proactive approach that addresses the main impacts on the fisheries. We consider that the most practical way to assess and manage overfishing of migratory species in the short run in an area as large as the main commercial fishing area in the Amazon is at market sites where enforced regulations can control fish catch. The management of the three species considered here has implications beyond just their sustainability. Their management would represent a paradigm shift where the governments assume their legal responsibilities in fishery management. These responsibilities include regulation enforcement, data collecting, inter-jurisdictional cooperation to protect migratory species at realistic life history scales, mitigation of the Madeira dams to assure goliath catfish passage to the largest western headwater region, and recognition of monitoring and managing wetland deforestation for the protection of fish and other aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiza Prestes
- Programa de Graduação em Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade do Estado do Amapá, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil
| | - Ronaldo Barthem
- Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi-Campus de Pesquisa-Coordenação de Ciências da Terra e Ecologia, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Adauto Mello-Filho
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aquática e Pesca, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Elizabeth Anderson
- Florida International University, Institute of Environment, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Sandra B. Correa
- Aquatic Ecology, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starville, Mississippi, United States of America
| | | | | | - Bruce Forsberg
- Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Montpelier, Vermont, United States of America
| | - Carlos Cañas
- Battelle, National Ecological Observatory Network, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Bianca Bentes
- Laboratório de Biologia Pesqueira e Manejo de Recursos Aquáticos, Núcleo de Ecologia Aquática e Pesca, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Michael Goulding
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), New York, NY, United States of America
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Bogotá-Gregory JD, Lima FCT, Correa SB, Silva-Oliveira C, Jenkins DG, Ribeiro FR, Lovejoy NR, Reis RE, Crampton WGR. Biogeochemical water type influences community composition, species richness, and biomass in megadiverse Amazonian fish assemblages. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15349. [PMID: 32948815 PMCID: PMC7501869 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72349-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Amazonian waters are classified into three biogeochemical categories by dissolved nutrient content, sediment type, transparency, and acidity-all important predictors of autochthonous and allochthonous primary production (PP): (1) nutrient-poor, low-sediment, high-transparency, humic-stained, acidic blackwaters; (2) nutrient-poor, low-sediment, high-transparency, neutral clearwaters; (3) nutrient-rich, low-transparency, alluvial sediment-laden, neutral whitewaters. The classification, first proposed by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1853, is well supported but its effects on fish are poorly understood. To investigate how Amazonian fish community composition and species richness are influenced by water type, we conducted quantitative year-round sampling of floodplain lake and river-margin habitats at a locality where all three water types co-occur. We sampled 22,398 fish from 310 species. Community composition was influenced more by water type than habitat. Whitewater communities were distinct from those of blackwaters and clearwaters, with community structure correlated strongly to conductivity and turbidity. Mean per-sampling event species richness and biomass were significantly higher in nutrient-rich whitewater floodplain lakes than in oligotrophic blackwater and clearwater river-floodplain systems and light-limited whitewater rivers. Our study provides novel insights into the influences of biogeochemical water type and ecosystem productivity on Earth's most diverse aquatic vertebrate fauna and highlights the importance of including multiple water types in conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Flávio C T Lima
- Museu de Zoologia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Cidade Universitária, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-863, Brazil
| | - Sandra B Correa
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Box 9680, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA
| | - Cárlison Silva-Oliveira
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Coleção de Peixes, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis, Manaus, Amazonas, 69.067-375, Brazil
| | - David G Jenkins
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, 4100 Libra Dr, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA
| | - Frank R Ribeiro
- Coleção Ictiológica da Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará. Campus Amazônia, Avenida Mendonça Furtado, 2946, Fátima, Santarém, Pará, CEP 68040-470, Brazil
| | - Nathan R Lovejoy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Roberto E Reis
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90619-900, Brazil
| | - William G R Crampton
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, 4100 Libra Dr, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA.
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Correa SB, Anderson JT. A non-destructive sampling protocol for field studies of seed dispersal by fishes. J Fish Biol 2016; 88:1989-2003. [PMID: 27097831 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
This paper presents a standardized protocol for the non-lethal capture of fishes, sampling of stomach contents and quantification of seed dispersal efficiency by frugivorous fishes. Neotropical pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus individuals were collected with fruit-baited hooks. The diets of 110 fish were sampled using a lavage method, which retrieved >90% of stomach contents of both juveniles and adults and allowed individuals to recover within 5 min of treatment. The proportional volume of six food categories was similar for stomachs and whole digestive tracts retrieved by dissection. Fruit pulp was proportionally lower in the stomach. The abundance and species richness of intact seeds increased with fish size independent of whether only stomachs or whole digestive tracts were analysed. The analysis of stomach contents accounted for 62·5% of the total species richness of seeds dispersed by P. mesopotamicus and 96% of common seeds (seed species retrieved from more than one fish). Germination trials revealed that seed viability was similar for seeds collected from the stomach via lavage and seeds that passed through the entire digestive tract. Therefore, stomach contents provide an unbiased representation of the dietary patterns and seed dispersal of frugivorous fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S B Correa
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 120 Green St, Athens, GA 30602-7223, U.S.A
| | - J T Anderson
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 120 Green St, Athens, GA 30602-7223, U.S.A
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