Update on the ichthyofauna of the Piquiri River basin, Paraná, Brazil: a conservation priority area

Abstract

Knowledge of the fish species in river basins is among the minimum requirements for the management of water and fish resources. Therefore, the aim of this study was to update the fish species composition of the Piquiri River basin, upper Paraná River basin. Data were gathered from recent information published in specialized literature and records for ichthyology collections. This update reports the occurrence of 152 fish species distributed in 8 orders, 31 families, and 89 genera. Non-native species accounted for 20% of all species, and the construction of the Itaipu Power Plant and its fish ladder were the main vectors of introduction. Three percent of the species were endangered, and 11% were classified as migratory. The Piquiri River basin harbors a large number of species, some of which are rare, endangered, migratory, endemic, and even unknown by science. Because of this, maintaining the integrity of this river basin will support the persistence of regional biodiversity. Keywords: Ichthyofaunal survey, species knowledge, preservation, upper Paraná River basin.Atualização da ictiofauna da bacia do rio Piquiri, Paraná, Brasil: uma área prioritária para conservaçãoResumo: O conhecimento das espécies de peixes existentes em uma bacia hidrográfica é condição mínima necessária para a implantação de qualquer medida de manejo dos recursos hídricos e pesqueiros. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma atualização da composição das espécies de peixes da bacia do rio Piquiri, sistema do alto rio Paraná, proveniente de recentes informações contidas em estudos divulgados na literatura especializada e registros de espécies depositadas em coleções ictiológicas. A atualização do levantamento ictiofaunístico da bacia do rio Piquiri revelou a ocorrência de 152 espécies, as quais foram distribuídas em oito ordens, 31 famílias e 89 gêneros. Vinte por cento das espécies foram consideradas não nativas. O principal vetor de introdução foi a construção da barragem de Itaipu e seu sistema de transposição. Três por cento das espécies apresentaram alguma ameaça de extinção e 11% foram classificadas como migradoras. A bacia do rio Piquiri comporta grande número de espécies, algumas delas raras, ameaçadas de extinção, migradoras, endêmicas e até mesmo desconhecidas pela ciência. Dessa forma, a manutenção da integridade da bacia promoverá a persistência da biodiversidade regional. Palavras-chave:Levantamento ictiofaunístico, conhecimento das espécies, preservação, bacia do alto rio Paraná.

Ichthyofauna of streams of the Rio Sapucaí basin, upper Rio Paraná system, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…Overall, members of the orders Siluriformes and Characiformes comprise the majority of species found in the three sampled streams of the Rio Sapucaí basin (see Figure 3). Dozens of investigators who have conducted fish surveys of rivers, reservoirs, or streams of the upper Paraná basin (e.g., Casatti et al 2003, Fagundes et al 2015, Frota et al 2016, Cavalli et al 2018 have also found species richness to be highest in these orders. Therefore, the relatively high species counts in these two orders, as we found in this study, is an expected result for many regions of the upper Rio Paraná system.…”

A new inventory for fishes of headwater streams from the rio das Cinzas and rio Itararé basins, rio Paranapanema system, Paraná, Brazil

“…However, these projects focused mostly on larger rivers and, until recently, low-order streams (especially in the Paraná State) still lacked samplings. This scenario changed in recent years as researchers started to focus ecological and biogeographical aspects of several sub-basins of the alto rio Paraná system, increasing our knowledge about the fish species resident in its streams (e.g., Castro et al 2003;Cetra et al 2012;Cionek et al 2012;Pagotto et al 2012;Costa et al 2013;Hoffmann et al 2015;Cetra et al 2016;Frota et al 2016a,b;Larentis et al 2016;Cavalli et al 2018;Delariva et al 2018;Claro-García et al 2018;.…”

Ichthyofauna of headwater streams from the rio Ribeira de Iguape basin, at the boundaries of the Ponta Grossa Arch, Paraná, Brazil

“…However, knowledge of the actual quantity of species and their geographical distribution is far from complete (Ota et al 2015). Specifically to the Paraná State, where are numerous river networks, recent inventories of fish (Baumgartner et al 2012;Pagotto et al 2012;Frota et al 2016a;Cavalli et al 2018) have been improving the knowledge about the state's large sub-basins, yet economically biased by hydroelectric projects financing. Headwater regions of the rivers, with lower profitability of the electric sector, remain without substantial samplings, even though they have a high rate of endemism and are ecologically threated by human occupation (Baumgartner et al 2012).…”