The temporal succession of fish communities allows evaluating the environmental conditions and the adaptation capacity of the fish species to anthropogenic stress in reservoirs. The fish community at Barra Bonita reservoir was sampled in two different periods of the year (dry and rainy) and in three different areas of the reservoir (fluvial, transition, and lentic). The species list was compared to another four lists, trying to detect the transformations of the fish community for the last 15 years. In order to evaluate the adaptation of the present fish community to the hydraulic management of reservoir, the trophic and reproductive structures were studied. Temporal succession analysis shows little change in fish richness of the communities. The number of fish species varies between 23 and 39 for a total of 68 registered species. From this, 27 can be considered constant, 14 accessory and 27 accidental; the main differences observed were for Anostomidae, Loricariidae and Characidae families. In relation to the hydraulic management, we found a fish community stabilized and adapted to environmental stress. This is characterized by the dominance of small-sized fish species of opportunistic diet and high reproductive compensation (r-strategists). The overlap of biological cycles of the most abundant species with the reservoir level fluctuations points to the period from September to March-April as critical for reproductive success and only the species with partial reproductive strategy or parental care are best succeeded. These results, interpreted in the context of the reservoir aging process, indicate that Barra Bonita reservoir is entering a transition phase, between the colonization and aging stages.
Barra Bonita reservoir; fish assemblage; temporal succession; trophic and reproductive structure
