Conhecimento e conservação dos peixes marinhos e estuarinos (Chondrichthyes e Teleostei) da costa norte do Brasil

Abstract

The tropical western South Atlantic, which includes a substantial portion of the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone, is a region of endemism broadly recognized as being of prime importance for the conservation of the marine biodiversity. The north coast of Brazil, which comprises the states of Amapá, Pará and Maranhão from the mouth of the rio Oiapoque to the mouth of the rio Parnaíba, harbors the largest continuous mangrove in the world, with approximately 8,900 km2. The high discharge of freshwater and continental sediments in the delta of the Amazonas affects the regime of tides, ocean currents, and several oceanographic processes of the north coast, with direct impact on the composition of the biota found in the region. Despite its economic value and intrinsic biological relevance, several aspects of the diversity of the marine and estuarine fishes of the region are poorly known. This situation results mainly from a historical imbalance in terms of the number of studies devoted to increasing the knowledge of the marine biota along the Brazilian coast, such as those dealing with species inventory and taxonomic revisions, which are typically concentrated in the south and southwestern portions of the country. The scientific production focused on marine organisms of the north coast is also imbalanced, and reflects the relatively small number of taxonomists and research groups working on that subject. The insufficient knowledge of the biodiversity of the marine and estuarine fishes of the north coast is an impediment to the implementation of adequate public policies aimed at the management of natural resources in the region. In the long term, that situation is potentially harmful in terms of conservation of a still poorly known biota. A better understanding of the marine fish fauna of the north coast of Brazil will be achieved only through the investment in scientific research and personnel training in systematics and biogeography, coupled with the modernization of the current infrastructure and expansion of scientific collections of the region.

Sharks and batoids (Subclass Elasmobranchii) caught in the industrial fisheries off the Brazilian North coast

“…This is usually associated to minor investments in taxonomic research, ex-situ conservation actions (e.g. ichthyological collections) and lack of fish experts in the region as noticed in Marceniuk et al (2013). For instance, Fontitrygon colarensis occurring exclusively in Pará State has not been collected since its original description in Santos et al (2004) as it is observed in the present study and in recent molecular analysis of local species (e.g.…”

Fish composition (Teleostei) of the estuarine region of the Macaé River, southeastern Brazil

“…A total of 157 species of that group is now reported for the river, including species previously identified by Brito (2007) and Jaramillo-Villa (2010). Species of the Ariidae, Engraulidae, Clupeidae, Pristigasteridae, Sciaenidae, Gerreidae, Sparidae and Haemulidae, which were numerically expressive in the catches, are also well represented in fish communities of estuaries of the tropical western Atlantic (e.g., Vieira and Musick 1994;Andrade-Tubino et al 2008;Marceniuk et al 2013). Those species are typically eurytopic and are therefore able to cope with a wide range of environmental conditions, especially salinity, which is considered as the main limiting factor regulating the occurrence of fishes in estuaries (Vieira and Musick 1993).…”

Fish biodiversity and conservation in South America

“…The Amazon‐Orinoco plume is actually one of the few relatively well‐understood biogeographic barriers in the western Atlantic Ocean, acting as a filter to several coastal fishes, especially those associated with shallow reef environments (Rocha, ). The astonishing amount of sediment deposited by those river basins in the coastal shelf of the region also has a strong relevance on the local composition of the non‐reef marine fish fauna of northern South America (Marceniuk et al ., ).…”

“…South American marine habitats include a wide array of different ecosystems, ranging from the largest known continuous mangrove system of the world, in northern South America (Marceniuk et al ., ) to the depths of the abyssal plains at the border of the EEZs of most countries on both sides of the continent. Large biogenic reefs are lacking in most of the region, with the exception of the Caribbean portion of northern South America and a few isolated formations along the Brazilian coast, such as the Abrolhos Bank off the central Brazilian coast, and the Rocas Atoll, at 3°S;33°W.…”