Publications [#228744] of Daniel A. Livingstone

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Papers Published

  1. DA Livingstone, M Rowland and PE Bailey, On the size of African riverine fish faunas., American Zoologist, vol. 22 no. 2 (1982), pp. 361-369 .
    (last updated on 2016/04/09)

    Abstract:
    The Nile, while considerably longer, appears depauperate in its fish fauna compared with the Zaire. The number of freshwater fish species in African rivers, however, is more closely related to discharge than to length or catchment area. Discharge is directly proportional to terrestrial productivity of a river basin, which in turn affects total biomass of fish and number of species. Changes in the size of rivers during the geologic past affected their capacity to sustain diverse fish faunas. Rivers flowing through especially arid lands during the late-Pleistocene were reduced in discharge and, concomitantly, fish faunas. Immigration of fish from refuge rivers during the Holocene partially restored these diminished faunas. Fish are more mobile than they seem, and that the distinctiveness of riverine fish faunas may be maintained by competitive pressure from established residents, rather than by limited dispersal abilities of fish.-from Authors