title: Functional diversity of fish communities in two tropical estuaries subjected to anthropogenic disturbance.
abstract: The functional diversity of fish communities was studied along the salinity gradient of two estuaries in Northeast Brazil subjected to different anthropogenic pressures, to gain a better understanding of the response of fish communities to disturbance. We evaluated functional complementarity indices, redundancy and analysed functional composition through functional groups based on combinations of different traits. The fish communities in both estuaries share similar functions performed by few functional groups. The upstream areas had generally lower taxonomic, functional diversity and lower redundancy, suggesting greater vulnerability to impacts caused by human activities. Biomass was slightly more evenly distributed among functional groups in the less disturbed estuary, but total biomass and redundancy were lower in comparison to the urbanized estuary. The present findings lend strength to the notion that the less disturbed estuary may be more susceptible to anthropogenic impacts, underscoring the need for more effective conservation measures directed at this estuary.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Paraiba State University, 58429-500 Campina Grande, Brazil; Biology Department & Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. Electronic address: mdolbeth@ua.pt.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dolbeth
authors.affiliation: Centre for Applied Biological and Social Sciences, Paraiba State University, Campus V, Horacio Trajano Street, 58070-450 João Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Vendel
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Paraiba State University, 58429-500 Campina Grande, Brazil.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pessanha
authors.affiliation: MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patrício
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D063366:Estuaries; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology; D054712:Salinity; D014329:Tropical Climate
keywords: Brazil; Estuary; Functional complementarity; Functional identity; Functional redundancy; Morphological traits