Caracterização ecomorfológica da comunidade de peixes de duas microbacias do Alto Rio Paraná
Abstract
This study examined the ecomorphological pattern ofichthyofauna in two watersheds
located on the Upper Paraná River. It was analyzed the ecomorphological variations of
species collected from the Beija-Flor stream and Beija-Flor reservoir located in Estação
Ecológica de Jataí and Lapa stream located in Área de Proteção Ambiental
Corumbataí/Botucatu/Tejubá, to verify interspecific morphological differentiation, the
effects oftrophic guilds along the ecomorphological patterns and the effects of water
velocity along the ecomorphological standards. Of individuals collected in Estação
Ecológica de Jataí, it was selected two Characidium species, on which the
ecomorphological variations related to possibility of inter specific morphological
differentiation of species of the same genus were analyzed. Considering the common
species between the Estação Ecológica de Jataí and the Lapa Stream were observed
morphological variables in order to verify the intraspecific morphological differences.
Finally these results were related to the meaningof the relation ship between form and
function. The main morphological differences found in the individuals of this study
were related to the speed of water and feeding habits of the species. The distribution of
species in morphological space showed the relation between the ecomorphological
attributes and the distribution of species over the water column, where it was possible to
characterize the species as demersal, nectobenthicand nektonic species. The relation
ship of fish morphology with the water velocity is fundamental. The feeding also
contributes with smaller importance in the separation of species in ecomorphological
space, but this contribution seems to be because of the presence of these food items is
also influenced by the speed of the water. The function of the species in the
environmentin which they liveis linked mainly to its trophicniche.