Compression index |
CI |
(MBH)/(MBW) |
High values indicate lateral compression of the fish, which is expected when they occupy habitats with low water velocity. |
(Gatz, 1979aGATZ Jr., A.J. 1979. Community organization in fishes as indicated by morphological features. Ecology. 60(4):711-718.; Watson & Balon, 1984WATSON, D.J. & BALON, E.K. 1984. Ecomorphological analysis of fish taxocenes in rainforest streams of northern Borneo. J Fish Biol. 25(3):371-384.; Pouilly et al., 2003POUILLY, M. LINO, F. BRETENOUX, J.G. & ROSALES, C. 2003. Dietary-morphological relationships in a fish assemblage of the Bolivian Amazonian floodplain. J Fish Biol. 62(5): 1137-1158.) |
Relative position of eyes |
RPE |
(EH)/(HH) |
Perception of food and preferential habitat. |
(Gatz, 1979aGATZ Jr., A.J. 1979. Community organization in fishes as indicated by morphological features. Ecology. 60(4):711-718.) |
Relative area of eye |
RAE |
(EA)/(SL) |
Perception of food, position in water column. |
(Gatz, 1979aGATZ Jr., A.J. 1979. Community organization in fishes as indicated by morphological features. Ecology. 60(4):711-718.) |
Relative length of caudal peduncle |
RLCP |
(LCP)/(SL) |
Predators with good swimming for chase. |
(Watson & Balon, 1984WATSON, D.J. & BALON, E.K. 1984. Ecomorphological analysis of fish taxocenes in rainforest streams of northern Borneo. J Fish Biol. 25(3):371-384.; Oliveira et al., 2010OLIVEIRA, E.F. GOULART, E. BREDA, L. MINTE-VERA, C.V. PAIVA, L.R.D.S. & VISMARA, M.R. 2010. Ecomorphological patterns of the fish assemblage in a tropical floodplain: effects of trophic, spatial and phylogenetic structures. Neotrop Ichthyol 8(3):569-586.) |
Relative width of head |
RHW |
(MHW)/(MBW) |
Particle size of food and prey size. |
(Winemiller, 1991WINEMILLER, K.O. 1991. Ecomorphological diversification in lowland freshwater fish assemblages from five biotic regions. Ecol Monogr. 61(4):343-365.; Willis et al., 2005WILLIS, S.C. WINEMILLER, K.O. & LOPEZ-FERNANDEZ, H. 2005. Habitat structural complexity and morphological diversity of fish assemblages in a Neotropical floodplain river. Oecologia. 142(2): 284-295. ) |
Relative height of head |
RHH |
(HH)/(MBH) |
Particle size of food and prey size. |
(Winemiller, 1991WINEMILLER, K.O. 1991. Ecomorphological diversification in lowland freshwater fish assemblages from five biotic regions. Ecol Monogr. 61(4):343-365.; Willis et al., 2005WILLIS, S.C. WINEMILLER, K.O. & LOPEZ-FERNANDEZ, H. 2005. Habitat structural complexity and morphological diversity of fish assemblages in a Neotropical floodplain river. Oecologia. 142(2): 284-295. ) |
Relative length of head |
RHL |
(HL)/(SL) |
Particle size of food and prey size. |
(Watson & Balon, 1984WATSON, D.J. & BALON, E.K. 1984. Ecomorphological analysis of fish taxocenes in rainforest streams of northern Borneo. J Fish Biol. 25(3):371-384.) |
Relative width of mouth |
RMW |
(WM)/(SL) |
Particle size of food and prey size. |
(Gatz, 1979aGATZ Jr., A.J. 1979. Community organization in fishes as indicated by morphological features. Ecology. 60(4):711-718.) |
Relative height of mouth |
RHM |
(MH)/(SL) |
Particle size of food and prey size, hydrodynamic morphology. |
(Watson & Balon, 1984WATSON, D.J. & BALON, E.K. 1984. Ecomorphological analysis of fish taxocenes in rainforest streams of northern Borneo. J Fish Biol. 25(3):371-384.) |
Appearance of the mouth |
AM |
(MH)/(WM) |
Type of prey. |
(Beaumord, 1991BEAUMORD, A.C. 1991. As comunidades de peixes do rio Manso, Chapada dos Guimarães, MT: uma abordagem ecológica numérica. Unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation. Instituto de Biociências Carlos Chagas. UFRJ, 108p. ) |
Relative opening of the mouth |
ROM |
(TL)/(SL) |
Particle size of food and prey size. |
(Teixeira & Bennemann, 2007TEIXEIRA, I. & BENNEMANN, S.T. 2007. Ecomorfologia refletindo a dieta dos peixes em um reservatório no sul do Brasil. Biota Neotrop. 7(2): 67-76. http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n2/pt/abstract?article+bn00807022007
http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n2/p...
) |
Protrusion index |
PI |
(LMC)/(LMO) |
Particle size of food and prey size. |
(Gatz, 1979aGATZ Jr., A.J. 1979. Community organization in fishes as indicated by morphological features. Ecology. 60(4):711-718.; Cochran-Biederman & Winemiller, 2010COCHRAN-BIEDERMAN, J.L. & WINEMILLER, K.O. 2010. Relationships among habitat, ecomorphology and diets of cichlids in the Bladen River, Belize. Environ Biol Fish. 88(2): 143-152.) |
Peduncle compression Index |
PCI |
(PH)/(WCP) |
Swimming type, affecting performance in starts. |
(Watson & Balon, 1984WATSON, D.J. & BALON, E.K. 1984. Ecomorphological analysis of fish taxocenes in rainforest streams of northern Borneo. J Fish Biol. 25(3):371-384.) |