Fish assemblage structure of the Ipanema River, a small lotic environment partially protected by a Conservation Unit in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

A study on the fish assemblage of the Ipanema River, a small affluent of the Tietê River basin in southeastern Brazil, was performed aiming to look for structural patterns of species diversity in small lowland lotic environments. Fish samplings were performed every two months from June 2003 to April 2004 at four sample sites located on the lower stretch of the river. Local assemblage showed to be species rich, with fifty-two species belonging to Characiformes (25 spp.), Siluriformes (19 spp.), Cyprinodontiformes (3 spp.), Gymnotiformes (2 spp.), Perciformes (2 spp.), and Synbranchiformes (1 sp.). Fish fauna was composed of small-sized species (<200 mm SL) and by individuals of medium (up to 400 mm SL) to large (more than 400 mm SL) sized species. The Ipanema River, such as other small lotic transitional environments in the upper Paraná River drainage, is considered important for conservation of fish fauna because they cover available habitats for persistent populations of small-sized species and for non-persistent individuals or shoals of medium and large-sized fish species, which occupy other habitats along their life-history (e. g. floodplains, oxbow lakes, main channel of great rivers). The importance of the Ipanema River basin for fish fauna conservation is also reinforced by the fact that it is located in a highly impacted region of southeastern Brazil, near the São Paulo metropolitan area.Keywords: community structure, body size, conservation, neotropical, streams, upper Paraná River. Estrutura da assembleia de peixes do Rio Ipanema, um pequeno ambiente lótico parcialmente protegido por uma Unidade de Conservação no Sudeste do Brasil ResumoUm estudo sobre a estrutura da assembleia de peixes do Rio Ipanema, um pequeno afluente da bacia do Rio Tietê, no Sudeste do Brasil, foi realizado com o objetivo de buscar padrões estruturais de diversidade de espécies em pequenos ambientes lóticos de planícies. Peixes foram coletados a cada dois meses, de junho de 2003 a abril de 2004, em quatro locais de amostragem situados no trecho inferior do rio. A assembleia de peixes se mostrou rica em espécies, com 52 espécies registradas, pertencentes a 40 gêneros, 19 famílias e às ordens Characiformes (25 spp.); Siluriformes (19 spp.); Cyprinodontiformes (3 spp.); Gymnotiformes (2 spp.); Perciformes (2 spp.), e Synbranchiformes (1 sp.). A fauna de peixes foi composta por espécies de pequeno porte (<200 mm CP) e por indivíduos de espécies que atingem porte médio (até 400 mm CP) e grande (mais de 400 mm CP). O Rio Ipanema, assim como outros pequenos ambientes lóticos de transição entre riachos e grandes rios na drenagem do Alto Rio Paraná, são considerados importantes para a conservação da ictiofauna porque representam habitats disponíveis para populações persistentes de espécies de pequeno porte e para indivíduos ou cardumes não persistentes de espécies de médio e grande porte, que podem ocupar outros habitats (por exemplo, as lagoas marginais, as planícies de inundação e as calhas principais de grandes rios), durante o...

An updated list of the ichthyofauna of Ipanema National Forest,&nbsp;S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil

“…Figure 2C Table 3. Fish species occurring in the Ipanema National Forest, with their characteristics according to Cardone et al (2006), Castro et al (2004), Gomiero and Goitein (2008), Latini et al (2016), Marçal (2009), Meschiatti and Arcifa (2009), Oliveira et al (2013), Shibatta and Orsi (2002) and Resende et al (2016). Identification.…”

Effect of the riparian vegetation removal on the trophic network of Neotropical stream fish assemblage

“…Consequently, streams with pristine conditions or less impacted are extremely rare and restricted mainly to Conservation Units. (Oliveira et al, 2013).…”