Composition of the ichthyofauna in Brazilian semiarid reservoirs

Abstract

The scale of impact that the São Francisco River transposition project will have on the drainage basins ichthyofauna is still unclear, however, changes in the fish community diversity and abundance is probable. Surveys and registries of the fish fauna within key systems of the catchment basins are priority actions for the conservation of the aquatic diversity. This study conducted a taxonomic survey of the Epitácio Pessoa (Boqueirão municipality) and Argemiro de Figueiredo (Itatuba municipality), reservoirs ichthyofauna, both belonging to the Paraíba do Norte River basin, important socioeconomic and environmental systems for the transposition project. Monthly sampling was carried out between October/2014 to September/2015 in the upstream and downstream zones of the reservoirs. The specimens were collected using dip nets, drag nets, and sieves, and placed on ice in the field. Later in the laboratory, they were transferred to 10% formaldehyde and then preserved in 70% alcohol. A total of 2,328 specimens were collected representing five orders, 14 families, and 31 species in both systems. At the upstream zones 2057 specimens were collected representing 17 species, and at the downstream zones 271 specimens were collected representing 24 species. Of the 31 species recorded, 13 species are endemic to watersheds that drain rivers from the Brazilian semi-arid region, and seven species (Apareiodon davisi, Characidium bimaculatum, Hypostomus pusarum, Parotocinclus jumbo, P. spilosoma, Pimelodella enochi, and Prochilodus brevis) are endemic to the Mid-Northeastern Caatinga Ecoregion (MNCE). Among the latter, Parotocinclus spilosoma and Pimelodella enochi are endemic to the Paraíba do Norte River. Apareiodon davisi is classified as Endangered according to the current published Brazil's official list of endangered species of fish and aquatic invertebrates. This pre-transposition ichthyofaunistic survey will serve as a basis for future post-transposition analyzes, considering this action will change the scope of the ecosystems diversity. Keywords: Endemism, Paraíba, Basins Transposition. Composição da ictiofauna em reservatórios do semiárido brasileiroResumo: A dimensão do impacto que a transposição do rio São Francisco provocará na ictiofauna das bacias receptoras ainda é imprecisa, entretanto, é provável que haja alterações na riqueza e abundância da comunidade de peixes. Levantamentos e registros prévios da fauna íctica em sistemas chaves das bacias receptoras são ações prioritárias para a conservação da diversidade aquática. Este estudo realizou o levantamento taxonômico da ictiofauna dos reservatórios Epitácio Pessoa (município de Boqueirão), e Argemiro de Figueiredo (município Itatuba), ambos pertencentes a bacia hidrográfica do rio Paraíba do Norte, estado da Paraíba, importantes sistemas sócioeconômicos e ambientais para o projeto da transposição. Assim, foram realizadas amostragens mensais de Outubro/2014 a Setembro/2015 nas zonas lacustres e a jusante dos reservatórios. Os espécimes foram coletados com red...

Ichthyofauna of the Mamanguape river basin, Northeastern, Brazil

“…This species, and the entire family Parodontidae, prefers environments with more turbulent waters, where it lives in proximity to the substrate (Graça & Pavanelli 2007). Ramos et al (2005), Medeiros et al (2006;2010) and Costa et al (2017) recorded this species in lentic environments at Seridó and Paraíba do Norte rivers, which are rocky residual environments within intermittent rivers and are probably lotic during the flood period, which is consistent with the observations reported by Graça & Pavanelli (2007). This species was considered endemic to the coastal drainages of the mid-northeastern Caatinga (Rosa et al 2003), which corresponds to the Caatinga region of the NCCD.…”

Continental ichthyofauna from the Paraíba do Norte River basin pre-transposition of the São Francisco River, Northeastern Brazil

“…This paradigm has recently changed with the publication of a book chapter entitled "Diversity, patterns of distribution and conservation of fishes from Caatinga" in Rosa et al (2003) listed 240 species of freshwater fishes for the Caatinga biome, comprising the broadest evaluation about the freshwater ichthyofauna from this region to date. Various studies have since been undertaken which the understanding of the regional ichthyofauna through publications, including: Ramos et al (2005), Alves et al (2008), Nascimento et al (2011), Cardoso (2012), Gurgel-Lourenço et al (2013), Novaes et al (2013, Camelier & Zanata (2014), Nascimento et al (2014), Paiva et al (2014), Silva et al (2014), Ramos et al (2014), Silva et al (2015), Gurgel-Lourenço et al (2015), Rodrigues-Filho et al (2016), Costa et al (2017), Teixeira et al (2017) and Oliveira-Silva et al (2018).…”

Updated checklist and DNA barcode‐based species delimitations reveal taxonomic uncertainties among freshwater fishes from the mid‐north‐eastern Caatinga ecoregion, north‐eastern Brazil

“…, ; Rosa & Groth, ; Zawadzki et al . , ) along with systematic compilations of MNCE freshwater fishes (Costa et al, , ; Lima et al . , ; Nascimento et al .…”

“…splink.org.br), NEODAT II (www.mnrj.ufrj.br/search1p.htm) and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; gbif.org). Specialized taxonomic literature was also consulted (Britzke et al, 2016;Buckup et al, 2007;Costa, 2008;Costa & Vono, 2009;Fowler, 1941;Gurgel-Lourenço et al, 2013;Jerep & Malabarba, 2014;Novaes et al, 2013;Ramos et al, 2005Ramos et al, , 2013Reis et al, 2003;Rosa & Groth, 2004;Zawadzki et al, 2017) along with systematic compilations of MNCE freshwater fishes (Costa et al, 2017a(Costa et al, , 2017bLima et al, 2017;Nascimento et al, 2014;Paiva et al, 2014;Rodrigues-Filho et al, 2016;Rosa et al, 2003;Silva et al, 2014Silva et al, , 2017.…”

“…If a species was only known by its type material and its identity was uncertain due to a poor diagnosis or unavailability of topotypes, it was classified as inquirenda to indicate the need for further taxonomic review to confirm its taxonomic validity, following the definition of Sigovini et al (2016). Surveys of regional fish collections, recently sampled fish specimens, including topotypes (Table 1), were compared with digitized images of the holotypes and additional material recorded by Starks (1913) and Fowler (1915Fowler ( , 1941Fowler ( , 1942 This study is part of a regional collaborative initiative to study the diversity and conservation of freshwater fishes from north-eastern Brazil, including the MNCE ichthyofauna (Costa et al, 2017a;Costa et al, 2017b;Lima et al 2017;Lira et al, 2015;Paiva et al, 2014;Ramos et al, 2013Ramos et al, , 2016Silva et al, 2014Silva et al, , 2017Teixeira et al, 2017;Zawadzki et al, 2017).…”