Restricted-Range Fishes and the Conservation of Brazilian Freshwaters

Abstract

BackgroundFreshwaters are the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Although recent assessments provide data on global priority regions for freshwater conservation, local scale priorities remain unknown. Refining the scale of global biodiversity assessments (both at terrestrial and freshwater realms) and translating these into conservation priorities on the ground remains a major challenge to biodiversity science, and depends directly on species occurrence data of high taxonomic and geographic resolution. Brazil harbors the richest freshwater ichthyofauna in the world, but knowledge on endemic areas and conservation in Brazilian rivers is still scarce.Methodology/Principal FindingsUsing data on environmental threats and revised species distribution data we detect and delineate 540 small watershed areas harboring 819 restricted-range fishes in Brazil. Many of these areas are already highly threatened, as 159 (29%) watersheds have lost more than 70% of their original vegetation cover, and only 141 (26%) show significant overlap with formally protected areas or indigenous lands. We detected 220 (40%) critical watersheds overlapping hydroelectric dams or showing both poor formal protection and widespread habitat loss; these sites harbor 344 endemic fish species that may face extinction if no conservation action is in place in the near future.Conclusions/SignificanceWe provide the first analysis of site-scale conservation priorities in the richest freshwater ecosystems of the globe. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that freshwater biodiversity has been neglected in former conservation assessments. The study provides a simple and straightforward method for detecting freshwater priority areas based on endemism and threat, and represents a starting point for integrating freshwater and terrestrial conservation in representative and biogeographically consistent site-scale conservation strategies, that may be scaled-up following naturally linked drainage systems. Proper management (e. g. forestry code enforcement, landscape planning) and conservation (e. g. formal protection) of the 540 watersheds detected herein will be decisive in avoiding species extinction in the richest aquatic ecosystems on the planet.

Global distribution and conservation of marine mammals

“…Political endemic species [i.e., species found in only one country, a restriction that may increase their vulnerability (2)] included seven species; the Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica), the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), the Galapagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis), the Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki), the New Zealand dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori), the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi), and the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) (45). Seven species, among them the New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) and the Australian Snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni), had restricted ranges.…”

Fishes of the Taquari-Antas river basin (Patos Lagoon basin), southern Brazil

“…We assessed the species conservation status according to the endangered species list of Rio Grande do Sul (Reis et al, 2003b) Nogueira et al, 2010), we used data from our survey and primary literature, rather than assuming a priori only the species listed by Nogueira et al (2010). We considered as migratory those species mentioned by Luz- .…”

“…Non-native Native to North America, this species was intentionally introduced in the 1980s for sport fishing in high elevation streams (Malabarba et al, 2009 Silva, 2004;Rodriguez and Reis, 2008;Carvalho et al, 2008;Carvalho and Reis, 2009;Cognato et al, 2009;Ottoni and Cheffe, 2009;Menezes and Ribeiro, 2010;Ferrer and Malabarba, 2011;Menezes and Weitzman, 2011), but there are few studies and publications on ecology, reproductive biology or conservation (Guadagnin et al, 1998;Majolo, 2005;Alves and Fontoura, 2009;Hirschmann et al, 2008;Luz-Agostinho et al, 2010). The number of species in the Taquari-Antas basin represents ca.…”

“…10000 km 2 in range, following Nogueira et al, 2010), either endemic to the Taquari-Antas basin or not (Table 2). These numbers were based on recent publications (see Table 1) and on-going taxonomic investigations (J. Ferrer; V. A. Bertaco; R. E. Reis), and add another 11 species to those already listed by Nogueira et al (2010). Most of these species occur in the upper portions of the basin (only in the Plateau or also in the Mid-slopes and valleys), as Eurycheilichthys spp.…”

Ichthyofauna of Seridó/Borborema: a semi-arid region of Brazil

“…However, studies are unevenly distributed in Brazil. While some areas of the country are relatively well documented, studies available from the ecoregion Midle Eastern Portion of Northeastern Brazil (Nordeste Médio-Oriental) are still not expressive, either due to the low extension of the inventory, or due to the lack of clarity about the taxonomic identity of its components (Santos & Zanata 2006, Buckup et al 2007, Langeani et al 2009, Nogueira et al 2010, Ramos 2012. The more comprehensive and cited general work on the diversity of Northeastern freshwater fish was carried out by Rosa et al (2003), a study limited to the Caatinga region, that recorded 240 species.…”