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Factors affecting the transferability of bioindicators based on stream fish assemblages
Victoria Sousa1, Renato Bolson Dala-Corte2, Evanilde Benedito3
1Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil; Laboratório de Biogeografia e Ecologia Aquática (Bioecol), Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil.
Multimetric indices (MMIs) for aquatic habitats show limited transferability due to environmental and spatial differences, necessitating local calibration for accurate fish assemblage assessments. This impacts the reliability of ecological monitoring across regions.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Conservation Biology
Background:
- Multimetric indices (MMIs) assess aquatic habitat health using biological data.
- Fish assemblage metrics often lack transferability across different geographic regions, limiting MMI applicability.
- Understanding factors affecting MMI transferability is crucial for effective ecological monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how environmental dissimilarity and spatial distance affect the transferability of stream fish assemblage metrics.
- To determine if functional and taxonomic metrics exhibit different responses to spatial distance.
- To assess the need for local calibration of metrics used in MMIs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 239 fish assemblages in Brazil's upper Parana basin.
- Characterized sites using an Anthropogenic Pressure Index (API) and environmental variables (climate, topography, soil).
- Developed template response models in sub-basins to predict metric responses and evaluated prediction errors against environmental dissimilarity and spatial distance.
Main Results:
- Prediction errors for fish assemblage metrics were significantly influenced by both environmental dissimilarity and spatial distance.
- Both functional and taxonomic metrics showed similar responses to increasing spatial distance.
- The study confirmed that MMIs developed in one region may not be directly applicable to others without local adjustments.
Conclusions:
- Environmental dissimilarity and spatial distance are key factors limiting the transferability of fish assemblage metrics for MMIs.
- Local calibration of metrics is essential for developing reliable MMIs, particularly when using data from distant and environmentally different areas.
- Findings highlight the importance of considering geographic and environmental context in ecological assessment tool development.
