Spatial variability of biotic and abiotic factors of the aquatic habitat in French Guiana

Research on tropical fish ecology in South America is focused mainly on the effect of environmental variables on aquatic organisms. Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water measured at a local scale (local variables) are used, although geomorphological and hydrological factors measured at a regional scale (regional variables), as well as temporal and spatial heterogeneity, can also be considered. However, the use of this multi-scale approach increases the perceived complexity, heterogeneity and variability of rivers. Thus, it is important to determine the magnitude of habitat variability and those parameters having the greatest influence on it. In this study, 28 stations distributed on 16 different rivers in French Guiana were sampled during high water at a meso spatial scale. Physical features of the rivers were sampled along an 800-m stretch, where nine transversal transects were established on the main channel. At each river, 17 local and six regional variables were measured. Local variables relating to the physical characteristics of the channel bank and main channel and regional variables characterizing the whole basin and the position of the station in the basin were qualitatively and quantitatively described. All variables were submitted to multivariate analysis in order to determine their relative contribution to total variance. Two quantitative regional variables (drainage area upstream from station and river drainage basin), five quantitative local variables (channel width, water temperature, channel depth, Secchi transparency and conductivity) and one qualitative local variable (channel substrate) were shown to differentiate the 16 rivers sampled. This result shows the poor contribution of qualitative variables compared with quantitative ones. Gradual change in qualitative variables is probably responsible for this poor contribution to the total variance; thus, the use of such variables is not possible for spatial habitat differentiation in this study. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.