A decade later: the effects of land use changes in biodiversity patterns of stream fish assemblages from a tropical agroecosystem
Carregando...
Data
2017-04-28
Autores
Zeni, Jaquelini de Oliveira [UNESP]
Título da Revista
ISSN da Revista
Título de Volume
Editor
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Resumo
Mudanças ambientais associadas a conversão da vegetação nativa em agroecossistemas são consideradas um poderoso motor de homogeneização da ictiofauna no Antropoceno. Assim, é primordial entender como subsequentes alterações em ambientes já impactados podem afetar o ambiente aquático e as assembleias de peixes. Avaliar se e como subsequentes mudanças ambientais nas escalas regional (microbacia) e local (descritores do canal e ecótone) podem afetar a estrutura taxonômica e funcional da ictiofauna e a diversidade beta espaço-temporal de riachos em agroecossistemas. Trinta e oito riachos foram amostrados em dois períodos (2003 e 2013). Nós quantificamos o grau de mudança nas escalas regional e local e, posteriormente correlacionamos com o grau de mudanças taxonômicas e funcionais das assembleias e com a diversidade beta espaço-temporal. O grau de mudanças ambientais (escalas regional e local) não foi correlacionado com as mudanças biológicas ou com a diversidade beta. A diversidade beta espacial permaneceu inalterada entre os períodos, enquanto a diversidade beta temporal foi menor do que esperado ao acaso. Os resultados obtidos nesse estudo reforçam que os padrões atuais das assembleias de peixes podem estar associados com o filtros ambientais antigos decorrente do desmatamento inicial em uma região. É provável que esses filtros foram responsáveis pela seleção não randômica de espécies generalistas quanto ao uso do habitat capazes de resistir e se adaptar a uma grande diversidade de mudanças ambientais. Apesar da ausência de um inventário da fauna antes do desmatamento, a maioria das espécies de peixes amostradas nesse estudo é comum e regionalmente distribuída, enquanto poucas espécies raras estão restritas a poucos riachos. Nesse contexto, o grau de mudança ambiental observado, provavelmente, não foi suficiente para causar mudanças biológicas da ictiofauna. Além disso, há evidencias de um time lag na região, assim os efeitos da rápida conversão da paisagem na estrutura física do riacho e nas assembleias de peixes ainda não está evidente.
Environmental changes associated with conversion of native vegetation to agroecosystems are considered a powerful drive of fish fauna homogenization in the Anthropocene. Thus, it is essential to understand how subsequent alterations to already altered ecosystems may further affect assemblages. To evaluate whether and how further environmental changes at regional (watershed) and local (instream habitat and ecotone) scales can influence taxonomic and functional fish structure and spatial-temporal beta diversity in agroecosystem streams. Thirty-eight agroecosystem streams were sampled 10 years apart (2003 and 2013). We quantified the degree of regional and local changes and correlated with the degree biological changes (taxonomic and functional structure) and with the spatial-temporal beta diversity between the two periods. The degree of environmental changes at regional and local scales were not correlated with the degree of taxonomic and functional structure changes or spatial-temporal beta diversity. Spatial beta diversity remained unchanged over time and temporal beta diversity was lower than expected by chance. We believe our results indicate that current patterns of fish assemblages in agroecosystem could be widely associated with the past deforestation and the environmental filtering. Probably, past environmental filters were responsible for the selection of habitat generalist species able to adapt and resist several types of environmental changes. Despite no pre-deforestation inventory in the region, most of our fish species are common and regionally distributed, while few rare species are restricted to few streams. In this context, it is possible that the degree of environmental changes observed in this study were not strong enough to cause further changes in fish fauna aspects. Moreover, we detected some evidence for a time lag response or legacy effects. Thus, the effects of rapid conversion of the landscape on instream habitat and biodiversity are presumably not yet fully evident. Unfortunately, this is happening in numerous aquatic systems, and immediate measures that effectively restore streams assemblages should be a priority.
Environmental changes associated with conversion of native vegetation to agroecosystems are considered a powerful drive of fish fauna homogenization in the Anthropocene. Thus, it is essential to understand how subsequent alterations to already altered ecosystems may further affect assemblages. To evaluate whether and how further environmental changes at regional (watershed) and local (instream habitat and ecotone) scales can influence taxonomic and functional fish structure and spatial-temporal beta diversity in agroecosystem streams. Thirty-eight agroecosystem streams were sampled 10 years apart (2003 and 2013). We quantified the degree of regional and local changes and correlated with the degree biological changes (taxonomic and functional structure) and with the spatial-temporal beta diversity between the two periods. The degree of environmental changes at regional and local scales were not correlated with the degree of taxonomic and functional structure changes or spatial-temporal beta diversity. Spatial beta diversity remained unchanged over time and temporal beta diversity was lower than expected by chance. We believe our results indicate that current patterns of fish assemblages in agroecosystem could be widely associated with the past deforestation and the environmental filtering. Probably, past environmental filters were responsible for the selection of habitat generalist species able to adapt and resist several types of environmental changes. Despite no pre-deforestation inventory in the region, most of our fish species are common and regionally distributed, while few rare species are restricted to few streams. In this context, it is possible that the degree of environmental changes observed in this study were not strong enough to cause further changes in fish fauna aspects. Moreover, we detected some evidence for a time lag response or legacy effects. Thus, the effects of rapid conversion of the landscape on instream habitat and biodiversity are presumably not yet fully evident. Unfortunately, this is happening in numerous aquatic systems, and immediate measures that effectively restore streams assemblages should be a priority.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Agroecosystems, Temporal changes, Biofuel production, Time lag response, Past environmental filter, Turnover, Fish fauna homogenization, Pasture, Sugarcane