Local-scale species–energy relationships in fish assemblages of some forested streams of the Bolivian Amazon

• DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2007.02.004
• Publication Date: 2007-03-31T11:19:45Z
• Authors: Pablo A. Tedesco; Carla Ibañez; Nabor Moya; Rémy Bigorne; Jimena Camacho; Edgar Goitia; Bernard Hugueny; Mabel Maldonado; Mirtha Rivero; Sylvie Tomanová; José P. Zubieta; Thierry Oberdorff
• Keywords: Assemblage (archaeology)

Productivity (trophic energy) is one of the most important factors promoting variation in species richness. A variety species-energy relationships have been reported, including monotonically positive, negative, or unimodal (i.e. hump-shaped). The exact form relationship seems to depend, among other things, on spatial scale involved. However, mechanisms behind these patterns are still largely unresolved, although many hypotheses suggested. Here we report a case local-scale positive relationship. Using 14 local fish assemblages tropical forested headwater streams (Bolivia), and after controlling for major abiotic usually acting assemblage richness structure, show that rising energy availability through leaf litter decomposition rates allows trophically specialized maintain viable populations thereby increase By deriving predictions from three popular mechanistic explanations, i.e. 'increased population size', 'consumer pressure', 'specialization' hypotheses, our data provide only equivocal support latter.