This work aims to analyze changes in the fish assemblages along a longitudinal reaches of the rio Paraíba do Sul, one of the most used Brazilian aquatic systems, to assess the river "health" and to identify eventual recovery trends. Standardized monthly samplings were carried out at six sites, from October 1997 to September 1999, using casting, sieves, seine and gill nets. Three zones were searched: upstream (Z I), downstream (Z III) and nearby the source of pollution (Z II). Three univariate distribution methods were used: ABC (abundance-biomass curves), K-dominance curves, and geometric class's distribution. Additionally, cluster analysis was applied to detect eventual patterns. The ABC and K-dominance curves showed Z II with evident indication of stress in both yearly cycles, followed by Z III and Z I. Few rare species and absence of common species in Z I, presence of common and abundant species, mainly opportunist, in Z II, and the highest number of rare species in Z III, was the overall pattern showed by geometric class. Number of fish was higher at Z II, while number of species did no change significantly among zones. Cluster analysis separate Z II samples from Z I and III. All the three univariate methods showed evident signals of stress at Z II, which showed indication of organic enrichment as expressed in the high abundance of common species, although physicochemical variables (ammonia, nitrogen, total phosphorous and DBO) have increased slightly from Z1 to Z III. A lesser stress condition was shown at the downstream zone (Z III), indicating the river recovery capacity. The use of biological indicators in this study proved to be a better tool to assess non-point sources pollution when compared to traditional physicochemical measurements.
Fish community; Neotropical fauna; Pollution; Water quality; ABC curves; Cluster analysis
