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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Long-term study of reservoir cascade in south-eastern Brazil reveals spatio-temporal gradient in fish assemblages

Raquel Coelho Loures A C and Paulo Santos Pompeu B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Cemig Geração e Transmissão, Gerência de Ações e Programas Ambientais e Apoio à Operação, Programa Peixe Vivo, Avenida Barbacena, 1200, 30190-131, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

B Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitário, Departamento de Biologia, Setor de Ecologia, Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Caixa Postal-3037, 37200-000 Lavras, MG, Brazil.

C Corresponding author. Email: quelloures@gmail.com

Marine and Freshwater Research 69(12) 1983-1994 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18109
Submitted: 21 March 2018  Accepted: 12 June 2018   Published: 18 September 2018

Abstract

In reservoir cascades, effects on fish assemblages are expected to strengthen over time and transfer from one reservoir to an adjacent one. To test this, fish-assemblage data from 23 years of monitoring in the Araguari reservoir cascade system, upper Paraná River basin, were analysed. The results showed a clear reduction in richness of native and migratory fish species and an increase of non-native species, following reservoir formation. Migratory species richness was higher in reservoirs that presented habitats similar to lotic stretches or tributaries upstream of the impounded area. There was a clear tendency for native species to decline and non-native fish species to increase, in a downstream direction. Fish assemblages became increasingly dissimilar as reservoirs became more distant from each other (longitudinal gradient) and were dominated by small and medium-sized species. Alongside longitudinal position, reservoir area, age and the presence of herbivorous non-native fish were found to be important predictors of variation in fish-assemblage structure. Results from the present study help clarify the potential accumulated impacts of reservoir cascades on fish diversity, which must be carefully considered in river-basin inventories for hydropower plants, and reinforce the importance of long-term monitoring, considering longitudinal and lateral dimensions of the basin.

Additional keywords: Araguari River, dam impact, freshwater fish, invasive species, longitudinal gradient.


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