RESUMO Poucos estudos sobre assembleias de peixes de sistemas aquáticos do sudeste da Amazônia foram realizados quando comparado a outras áreas na Amazônia. As principais variáveis ambientais e processos responsáveis por sua estruturação permanecem desconhecidas. Nossa hipótese é que as assembleias de peixes respondem as variações das variáveis físico-químicas entre as estações do ciclo hidrológico em um rio preservado na Amazônia. O estudo analisou as assembleias de peixes do rio Tarumã, na Reserva Biológica do Jaru, Rondônia. As amostragens foram realizadas em cinco pontos amostrais ao longo do rio, em março e setembro de 2015, que incluiu coleta de peixes e medições de dados ambientais. A Análise de Componentes Principais ordenou os pontos amostrais nos períodos de cheia e seca, de acordo com as variáveis ambientais. Utilizamos uma análise de similaridade afim de identificar a contribuição individual de cada espécie em cada período hidrológico e uma análise de redundância parcial com o objetivo de quantificar a importância relativa das variáveis ambientais na composição das espécies. Conforme previsto por nossa hipótese, a composição de espécies do rio Tarumã é influenciada pelo oxigênio dissolvido e temperatura. Myloplus rubripinnis, Serrasalmus compressus e S. rhombeus foram mais abundantes durante o período de cheia, enquanto S. rhombeus, Myloplus lobatus, Prochilodus nigricans e Hydrolycus armatus foram as espécies dominantes no período de seca.

ABSTRACT Few studies on fish assemblages and relations with environmental factors in aquatic systems in southeastern Amazonia have been carried out when compared to other areas in the Amazon. Therefore, which are the main environmental variables and processes responsible for structuring them remains unknown. We hypothesized that fish assemblages respond the variation in the physical-chemistry variables between seasons of the hydrological cycle in a pristine river in the Amazon. The study was performed on fish assemblages of the Tarumã River, Jaru Biological Reserve, Rondônia. Samplings were carried out in five sites along the river in March and September, 2015, which included fish collection and environmental data measurements. Principal component analysis was performed to ordinate the sites in high water and low water seasons, according to environmental variables. We used a similarity analysis in order to identify the individual contribution of species in hydrological period and a partial redundancy analysis for quantify the relative importance of environmental variables in the species composition. As predicted by our hypothesis, the species composition was influenced by dissolved oxygen and temperature. Myloplus rubripinnis, Serrasalmus compressus, and S. rhombeus were the most abundant during high water, while S. rhombeus, Myloplus lobatus, Prochilodus nigricans, and Hydrolycus armatus were the dominant species during the low water.

ResumenIgarapés son ríos amazónicos extremadamente susceptibles a los impactos ambientales. Debido al impacto de los cambios en el uso de las zonas riparias en los ensambles de peces, es importante describir y entender las relaciones entre los ensambles de peces y los factores ambientales, especialmente en áreas poco conocidas. Se estudió la composición taxonómica y los atributos del ensamble de peces en ríos bajo diferentes condiciones de conservación de la zona riparia: bosque, zona intermedia y pastos. Los muestreos se realizaron cada dos meses entre Octubre 2011 y Septiembre 2012, en tres ríos de primer orden en la cuenca del río Machado, Rondonia. Los peces fueron recolectados con redes de cerco y de profundidad (2 mm) a lo largo de todo el tramo. Se registró un total de 2 141 ejemplares pertenecientes a 59 especies, 17 familias y 5 órdenes. A diferencia de la zona intermedia y pasto, el bosque mostró una alta riqueza y baja abundancia. El área boscosa exhibió el valor más alto de diversidad y uniformidad, y baja dominancia, a diferencia de los otros sitios. La varianza particionada y el análisis de redundancia parcial (pRDA) indicaron que la composición del ensamble fue significativamente explicado por las variables ambientales como: profundidad, velocidad del agua, pteridofitas y pastos, pero no por predictores espaciales. El análisis de escalamiento multidimensional no métrico (EMNM) mostró que los ríos de sitios intermedios y pastos estaban separados de los ríos del bosque. Llegamos a la conclusión de que las variables ambientales de los ríos y los atributos del ensamble de peces se ven influenciados por los diferentes niveles de conservación y cobertura del suelo. En vista de la influencia de los procesos regionales en el ensamble de peces locales, el uso del suelo a escala de cuenca es importante, especialmente para explicar la alta riqueza y diversidad que se encuentra en el los ríos del área boscosa.

Abstract:Igarapés are Amazonian streams that are extremely susceptible to environmental changes. Due to the rapidly occurring riparian land use changes, and the several impacts these may have on fish assemblages, it is highly valuable to describe and understand the current relationships between these assemblages and the local environmental conditions, especially in barely know areas. In this research, we studied the taxonomic composition and fish assemblage attributes variation in three streams with different riparian conservation conditions: forest, intermediate and pasture. Samplings were performed every two months from October 2011 to September 2012, in three 1st order streams in the Machado River Basin, Rondônia. Fish were collected using trawls (seine net with a mesh size of 2 mm) and dip nets (2 mm mesh) along the entire stretch; the obtained samples were preserved and identified per site type. A total of 2 141 fish specimens belonging to 59 species, 17 families and five orders were recorded. Unlike the intermediate and pasture streams, the forest stream showed a high richness and low abundance. The forested stream exhibited the highest diversity and evenness value, and had low dominance, unlike the other streams. The variance partitioning and partial Redundancy Analysis (pRDA) indicated that assemblage composition was significantly explained by the environmental variables such as: depth, water velocity, pteridophytes and grasses, but not by spatial predictors. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis showed that intermediate and pasture streams separated from the forested stream. We concluded that both, the stream environmental variables and fish assemblage attributes were influenced by the different conservation status and land cover. Given the influence of regional processes, which have a pervasive role in local fish assemblages, land use at the watershed scale is important, especially to explain the higher richness and diversity found in forested streams. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65 (1): 103-115. Epub 2017 March 01.