Rapid assessment of the ichthyofauna of the southern Guiana Shield tributaries of the Amazonas River in Pará, Brazil

Abstract

The Northern Pará Drainage System encompasses the left-bank tributaries of the Amazonas River in the southern Guiana Shield region of Pará state, Brazil. Five of the region’s state protected areas are considered strategic for the conservation of its biodiversity. In the present study, we assessed the ichthyofauna of the five state protected areas of the Northern Pará Drainage System. Seven expeditions were conducted between January 2008 and January 2009, which surveyed stretches of the Cuminá, Cuminapanema, Curuá, Jari, Mapuera, Nhamundá, and Paru rivers. These surveys yielded 286 species belonging to 38 families and eight orders, including seven new records of fish species for Brazil, six of which are also new records for the Amazon basin. Our results provide a valuable database for future research and conservation programs in the protected areas of the region.

Range extension of a small livebearer fish, Poecilia scalpridens (Garman, 1895) (Cyprinodontiformes, Poeciliidae): a new record for the Jari river drainage, Amapá, Brazilian Amazon

“…The Jari River ichthyofauna remains poorly known, with the Jari River being the only main drainage in Amapá not sampled by Melo's et al (2016). This and other recent ichthyological surveys in the region (e.g., Dutra et al 2020) failed to sample poeciliids.…”

Non‐stationary drivers on fish sampling efforts in Brazilian freshwaters

“…Spatial bias is responsible not only for species distribution gaps (Wallacean shortfall) but also for hampering the knowledge of existing species, as sites with no or low sample efforts can harbour a high number of undescribed species (Diniz‐Filho et al., 2005; Dutra et al., 2020). This can be especially true for remote regions with singular environmental conditions, where the lack of sampling may lead to missing rare and endangered species (Nogueira et al., 2010; da Silva et al., 2020).…”

Quantifying shortfalls in the knowledge on Neotropical Auchenipteridae fishes

“…Indeed, biodiversity occurrence data are historically biased towards locations that offer easier logistics, such as roads, and nearby cities or villages (Hortal, Lobo, & Jiménez‐Valverde, 2007; Lobo et al., 2007; Meyer, Kreft, Guralnick, & Jetz, 2015). This is particularly important in areas with access difficulties, for example in the Amazon region, where considerable effort is needed to study local biodiversity patterns (see Dutra et al., 2020; Jézéquel et al., 2019, 2020).…”