The importance of a Biosphere Reserve of Atlantic Forest for the conservation of stream fauna

Abstract

Preservation of terrestrial fauna and flora has been the main reason for the settlement of most protected areas in the past 30 years, but although those areas may include water bodies, this does not necessarily mean that the biodiversity of freshwater environments are also protected. In the present study, the fauna inventory of eight streams (1 st , 2 nd , 4 th and 5 th orders) of three microbasins of Japi Mountain, a Biosphere Reserve of Atlantic Forest recognised by UNESCO since 1994, located in São Paulo state, southeast of Brazil, was conducted. The hypothesis of this study is that the conservation of this area is important for the maintenance of the aquatic biodiversity of this biome, and so, this world hotspot deserves priority conservation actions. From 2005 to 2007, benthic macroinvertebrates, fishes and, eventually, anuran amphibians were sampled in these streams. The results showed that Japi Mountain contributes to the conservation of 138 taxonomic units of the aquatic biota and covers a rich and representative biodiversity of freshwater fauna of the world (0.2%), Neotropical region (0.9%), Brazil (2.4%) and São Paulo state (17.9%). The studied streams in the Environmental Protection Area help protect endangered taxa like the fishes Neoplecostomus paranensis and Pareiorhina cf rudolphi, and shelter freshwater invertebrates and fishes whose distribution is restricted to the Brazilian territory. Japi Mountain is also an important haven of species that was missing there like the frog species Vitreorana eurygnatha. Thus, this species inventory emphasises the importance of conservation actions of the freshwater environments of this Biosphere Reserve of Atlantic Forest.Keywords: amphibians, freshwater, fish, invertebrates, protected areas. A importância de uma Reserva da Biosfera da Mata Atlântica para a Conservação da Fauna de Riachos ResumoA conservação da fauna e flora terrestres tem sido a principal razão para o estabelecimento da maioria das áreas protegidas nos últimos 30 anos, porém, apesar de muitas destas áreas apresentarem corpos d'água, isto não significa necessariamente que a biodiversidade dos ambientes dulcícolas também estará protegida. No presente trabalho foi realizado o levantamento da fauna de oito riachos (1ª, 2ª, 4ª e 5ª ordens) de três microbacias da Serra do Japi, localizada no estado de São Paulo e reconhecida como Reserva da Biosfera da Mata Atlântica pela UNESCO desde 1994. A hipótese do estudo é de que a conservação desta área seja de grande importância para a manutenção de sua biodiversidade aquática, comprovando assim a necessidade de ações prioritárias de conservação deste bioma.

First report the role of benthic macroinvertebrates as preys for native fish in Toltén river (38° S, Araucania region Chile)

“…The River Tolten is located in the young Araucania region founded in 1881 ( Figure 1) and originates in the Villarrica lake (Niemeyer and Cereceda, 1984;Barile et al, 2018); its course includes zones with low levels of human intervention, close to its origin, and zones with increasing of human interference from the towns of Pitrufquén, and Toltén (Niemeyer and Cereceda, 1984). After 137 years the Araucanía region needs to have an inventory of its macrofauna of benthic invertebrates as a baseline to evaluate the impact of the anthropogenic activities growth and to generate conservation measures for the ecosystem of the rivers of the Toltén river basin (Yoshida and Uieda, 2014). Also, to know the roles of the macrofauna of the river and particularly of the native fish and introduced salmonids.…”

First report of inventory and role of macroinvertebrates and fish in Cautín river (38° S, Araucania region Chile)

“…The benthic macroinvertebrate fauna included aquatic insects (mainly Diptera, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera larval stages), crustaceans (amphipods and decapods) (Campos, 1973;Campos et al, 1993 a, b;Ruiz, 1996;Figueroa, 2000;Vega et al, 2013;Fierro et al, 2015). After 137 years the Araucanía region needs to have an inventory of its macrofauna of benthic invertebrates as a baseline to evaluate the impact of the anthropogenic activities growth and to generate conservation measures for the ecosystem of the rivers of the Cautín river basin (Yoshida and Uieda, 2014). Also, to know the roles of the macrofauna of the river and particularly of the native fish and introduced salmon.…”

Evaluation of Biological and Physicochemical Relationships as Indicators of Water Quality in Toltén River Basin, Araucanía, Chile: Preliminary Results

“…The Toltén river is located in the young Araucanía region and originates in the Villarrica lake [14], [15]; its course includes zones with low levels of human intervention, close to its origin, and zones with increasing of human interference from the towns of Pitrufquén, and Freire [14]. After 137 years, the Araucanía region needs to have an inventory of its macrofauna of benthic invertebrates as a baseline to evaluate the impact of the anthropogenic activities growth and to generate conservation measures for the ecosystem of the rivers of the Toltén river basin [16].…”