BOTTOM-FEEDER FISHES: A SCIENTOMETRIC APPROACH ABOUT TROPHIC GUILDS

Abstract

The classification of species in trophic guilds facilitates studies on the ecology interactions. However, the large number of definitions of terms used and the overlap has hampered the standardization of trophic guilds, especially bottom-feeder fishes. In this context, this study aimed to quantify, by a scientometrics analysis, the research involving species of bottom-feeder fishes and trophic guilds in which they are classified, and discuss the definitions used for each trophic guild. A survey in the Scopus and Web of Knowledge was performed and the publications were analyzed according to the type of trophic guild, publication year, the first author ´s country, the journal of publication, approach used, climate, the type of environment, subject and trophic guilds definitions. The trophic guild of the bottom-feeder fishes's fall among the least studied, however, we observed an increased number of publications since 1990. The climatic regions with the highest number of publications were the Tropical and Temperate hot climate, especially the United States, Brazil and Holland in the number of published papers. The publications, mainly observational, were developed mainly in freshwater environments, with emphasis on dietary studies. We found the occurrence of different definitions to bottom-feeder fishes, and the classification criteria were based mainly on food resource and feeding site. Considering the great diversity of food resource present in the sediment of aquatic environments, the classification of the bottom-feeder fishes in various trophic guilds is justified. However, there needs to be a standardization of the criteria for classification, thus it will generate fewer conflicts regarding the nomenclature used to determine the trophic guilds of fish.