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This study was developed as a research of first order streams fish assemblages located in two Conservation Units in Northwestern Paraná, Brazil, with the purpose of providing information about ichthyofauna composition of these water bodies while they are still under protection. There were captured 2,557 individuals belonging to six orders, nine families and 10 species in three streams. The most abundant species were Phalloceros harpagos (44%) from Conceição stream, Astyanax aff. paranae (14%) and P. harpagos (12%) from Jurema stream, and Melanorivulus apiamici (9%) from Conceição stream. Trichomycterus sp. could not be identified into a specific level, meaning it can represent an undescribed species to science, registered for the first time at the upper Paraná River basin.

In this study, diet-tissue discrimination factors and turnover rates were determined from the somatic tissues of a detritivorous fish Prochilodus lineatus. The carbon (Δ(13) C) and nitrogen (Δ(15) N) diet-tissue discrimination factors varied for all feed rations with a range of Δ(13) C values between -1·9 and 3·6‰ and Δ(15) N between 3·3 and 5·7‰. Carbon turnover rate in the blood was 23·1 days for the C3 ration and 34·7 days for the C4 ration, in the liver was 9·9 days under the C3 ration and nitrogen turnover rate was the same (23·1 days) in the liver for both C4 and C3 -C4 rations, and 13·9 days in the muscle for C3 -C4 ration.

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Aim: The measurement of the caloric content evidences the amount of energy that remains in the leaf and that can be released to the aquatic trophic chain. We assessed the energy content of leaves from five riparian tree species of a forest fragment in south Brazil and analyzed whether leaf caloric content varied between leaf species and between seasons (dry and wet). The studied sites are located in Northwest of Paraná State, inside a Semi-Deciduous Forest fragment beside two headwater streams. Methods Sampling sites were located along the riparian vegetation of these two water bodies, and due to its proximity and absence of statistical differences of caloric values, analyzed as one compartment. Results Caloric content varied significantly among species and among all pairs of species, with exception of Nectandra cuspidata Ness and Calophyllum brasiliensis Cambess. Two species presented significant differences between seasons, Sloanea guianensis (Aubl.) Ben and Calophyllum brasiliensis Cambess. Conclusions The absence of significant seasonal differences of energy content for some species may be due to the characteristics of the tropical forest, in which temperature did not varied dramatically between seasons. However, the energy differed between species and seasons for some species, emphasizing the necessity of a preliminary inspection of energy content, before tracing energy fluxes instead of using a single value to all species from riparian vegetation.

The aim of this study was to identify the population structure of the ichthyofauna in an urban stream within an environmental protection area in southern Brazil. Quarterly samplings were conducted between October 2009 and August 2010. Poecilia reticulata was the most abundant species, followed by Hypostomus ancistroides and Rhamdia quelen. It was found a higher proportion of adults instead of juveniles from P. reticulata and R. quelen populations, while the opposite was recorded for H. ancistroides. Sex ratio of 1:1 was found for H. ancistroides, but differed significantly for P. reticulata and R. quelen. Females of P. reticulata and R. quelen reached higher length than males in the smaller and higher length-classes, while H. ancistroides females were only longer in initial length-classes. It was recorded higher occurrence of mature and maturing individuals. Mature individuals of H. ancistroides were sampled in October, and P. reticulata and R. quelen throughout the sampling period. Despite adverse environmental conditions, the occurrence of juveniles indicates reproductive activity for these species. Population structure studies in degraded systems are urgent, since life-history features of species may suffer changes due to anthropic impacts. Providing such information contributes to decision making and management of degraded systems.

-Considering the importance of the riparian vegetation leaves as an energetic source to first order streams, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the leaf biomass contribution to the system and its temporal dynamics. With this purpose, monthly samples from July 2008 to June 2009 were collected using four sampling devices installed in three streams, in order to collect the vertical, lateral and terrestrial loads, and the benthic stock. We tested the following hypothesis: (1) leaf biomass input is higher after hydric stress periods; and (2) benthic stock biomass increase with higher loads from vertical and lateral entrances. Leaves represented 71.9% (on average) of all sampled allochthonous matter, with seasonal significant variation along the studied year. Peaks of leaf input were registered in September-October, after an increase in rainfall, and also in January, after a decrease in rainfall. Leaf input was higher in the lateral load.

Conservation Units (CU) aim to contribute to the balance between human and environmental demand, by protecting natural resources and biological communities. In this study we examined the differences in the attributes of the fish community in four stretches of an urban stream, two inside and two outside the CU, without vegetation cover, and tested the hypothesis that the presence of riparian vegetation is positively reflected in the attributes of fish fauna. Five species were caught, distributed into four orders and five families. Attributes like richness, abundance, dominance, Shannon-Wiener diversity, and evenness were estimated and significant differences were detected for continuous stretches considering stream flow direction. The first stretches (URBI and UCI) presented a lower diversity that increased gradually until the last stretch, and an inverse result was found for dominance. These changes occurred regardless the location of the stretch, in-or outside the CU. The importance of Conservation Units within urban areas is severely affected by the lack of continuity of forested areas, especially riparian vegetation. Therefore, we suggest the effective recovery of permanent preservation areas and of riparian vegetation in order to mitigate the impacts of human activities.