Fish diversity of the headwaters and streams of the Upper Paraná River System in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

• Grant number: 98/05072-8
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• Start date: December 01, 1998
• End date: June 30, 2003
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Macedo Corrêa e Castro
• Grantee: Ricardo Macedo Corrêa e Castro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Heraldo Antonio Britski ; José Lima de Figueiredo ; Naercio Aquino Menezes
• Associated scholarship(s): 01/00780-9 - Phylogeographical analysis of Astyanax altiparanea (Britski & Garutti, 2000) (Characiformes, Characidae) in the São Paulo portion of the basin of the Alto Paraná, BP.DR; 00/14030-9 - Diversity and aspects of the biology of two communities of fish of the Ribeirão Bonito, basin of the Alto Rio Paraná, SP, BP.IC; 00/01918-1 - Aspects of the biology of a community of river fish from the basin of the River Mogi-Guaçu, SP: diet, reproduction and ecomorphology, BP.MS; 00/01919-8 - Biology and structure of three communities of fish from the Sete de Setembro tributary, Morro do Diabo State Park, Alto Rio Paraná Basin, SP, BP.PD; 00/01920-6 - Phylogenetic analysis of the Moenkhausia Eigenmann, 1903 (Characiformes: Characidae) with the revision of the taxons of the Alto Rio Paraná, BP.DR

Abstract

The so called upper Paraná River system includes the whole Paraná River drainage basin upriver from the former Sete Quedas falls (now drowned by the Itaipu Reservoir) and encompass large sized tributaries like the Rivers Grande, Paranaíba, Tietê and Paranapanema. Geographically , the drainage basin approximately 900.000 km2 includes the north of Paraná State, the south of Mato Grosso do Sul, the majority of São Paulo State (west of the Serra do Mar), the south of Minas Gerais, the south of Goiás and a small area of eastern Paraguay adjacent to Mato Grosso do Sul. In the São Paulo State, according to our estimates, the upper Paraná system contains 22 families and approximately 170 described fish species, including the largest rivers of the State. These large rivers main channels are inhabited by medium to large size fish species. Associated to these large rivers there is a huge number of streams and headwaters, inhabited primarily by small size fish species, with restrict geographical distributions, with a small or inexistent commercial value and greatly dependent of the riparian vegetation for food, shelter and reproduction. Small size fish species like those are approximately 50% of the described freshwater fish species of South America and shown a high degree of geographical endemism. The study of the small freshwater fish species systematics, evolution and general biology is, without doubt, the great challenge and main frontier of the South American ichthyology in the end of this century. Unfortunately, these fish species are also the most threatened by harmful human activities like deforesting and extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides associated of intensive agricultural activities, since as a whole, they are heavily dependent on the allochthonous organic matter imported from the riparian vegetation to survive. Inside the São Paulo section of the upper Paraná system, our estimates indicate that the Pontal do Paranapanema, Alto Paranapanema, Peixe, Aguapeí, Baixo Tietê and São José dos Dourados drainage basins (as defined in the BIOTASP synthesis map - "Mapa Sintese do Estado de São Paulo" - see Fig. 2 of the Project) are poorly sampled for fishes. The Médio Paranapanema, Turvo-Grande, Baixo Pardo-Grande, Sapucaí-Grande and Piracicaba-Capivari-Junduaí drainage basins are moderately sampled and only the Tietê¬-Sorocaba, Tietê-Jacareí, Tietê-Batalha, Mogi-Guaçu and Pardo drainage basins are reasonably well sampled for fishes. That means that of the 16 drainage basins composing the São Paulo upper Paraná system portion, in terms of ichthyofauna, six are poorly sampled, five are moderately sampled and five are well sampled, meaning that about 70% of the São Paulo upper Paraná drainage basins are not satisfactorily explored for fishes in scientific terms... (AU)

Scientific publications

(15)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LILIAN CASATTI; FRANCISCO LANGEANI; RICARDO M. C. CASTRO. Peixes de riacho do parque estadual Morro do Diabo, Bacia do Alto Rio Paraná, SP. Biota Neotropica, v. 1, p. 1-15, 2001-00-00. (98/05072-8, 00/01919-8)

L. CASATTI; F. LANGEANI; A. M. SILVA; R. M. C. CASTRO. Ictiofauna de riachos, qualidade da água e do hábitat em uma bacia hidrográfica dominada por pastagens, Sudeste do Brasil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, v. 66, p. 681-696, 2006-05-00. (01/13340-7, 99/05193-2, 00/12939-0, 98/05072-8, 99/05279-4, 00/01919-8, 03/12893-8)

CASATTI, LILIAN; CASTRO, RICARDO M. C.. Testing the ecomorphological hypothesis in a headwater riffles fish assemblage of the rio São Francisco, southeastern Brazil. Neotropical Ichthyology, v. 4, n. 2, p. 203-214, Apr.- June 2006. (00/01919-8, 98/05072-8, 01/00602-3, 01/13340-7)

CASTRO, RICARDO M. C.; CASATTI, LILIAN; SANTOS, HERTZ F.; FERREIRA, KATIANE M.; RIBEIRO, ALEXANDRE C.; BENINE, RICARDO C.; DARDIS, GABRIELA Z. P.; MELO, ALEX L. A.; STOPIGLIA, RENATA; ET AL. Estrutura e composição da ictiofauna de riachos do rio Paranapanema, Sudeste e Sul do Brasil. Biota Neotropica, v. 3, n. 1, p. 1-14, 2003. (00/14030-9, 00/01918-1, 98/05072-8, 00/01919-8, 01/13340-7, 01/00780-9, 00/01920-6)

RIBEIRO, A. C.; BENINE, R. C.; FIGUEIREDO, C. A.. A new species of Creagrutus Günther (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes), from the upper Rio Paraná basin, central Brazil. Journal of Fish Biology, v. 64, n. 3, p. 597-611, Mar. 2004. (00/01920-6, 98/05072-8)

VARI‚ R.P.; CASTRO‚ R.M.C.; ARMBRUSTER‚ JW. New species of Astyanax (Ostariophysi: Characiformes: Characidae) from the Upper Rio Paraná System‚ Brazil. Copeia, v. 2007, n. 1, p. 150-162, 2007. (04/09219-6, 98/05072-8)

L. CASATTI. Ictiofauna de dois riachos (assoreado e referência) na bacia do Alto Rio Paraná, Sudeste do Brasil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, v. 64, n. 4, p. 757-765, 2004-11-00. (98/05072-8, 01/13340-7)

FRANCISCO LANGEANI; RICARDO MACEDO CORRÊA E CASTRO; OSVALDO TAKESHI OYAKAWA; OSCAR AKIO SHIBATTA; CARLA SIMONE PAVANELLI; LILIAN CASATTI. Diversidade da ictiofauna do Alto Rio Paraná: composição atual e perspectivas futuras. Biota Neotropica, v. 7, n. 3, p. 181-197, 2007-00-00. (99/05193-2, 98/05072-8, 01/13340-7)

BENINE‚ R.C.; CASTRO‚ R.M.C.; SABINO‚ J.; BUTH‚ DG. Moenkhausia bonita: A new small characin fish from the Rio Paraguay basin‚ southwestern Brazil (Characiformes: Characidae). Copeia, v. 2004, n. 1, p. 68-73, 2004. (98/05072-8, 00/01920-6)

CASATTI, L.; MENDES, H. F.; FERREIRA, K. M.. Aquatic macrophytes as feeding site for small fishes in the Rosana Reservoir, Paranapanema River, Southeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, v. 63, n. 2, p. 213-222, May 2003. (00/01919-8, 00/05903-9, 00/01918-1, 98/05072-8)

GIBRAN, FERNANDO ZANIOLO; FERREIRA, KATIANE MARA; CASTRO, RICARDO M. C.. Diet of Crenicichla britskii (Perciformes: Cichlidae) in a stream of Rio Aguapeí basin, Upper Rio Paraná system, southeastern Brazil. Biota Neotropica, v. 1, n. 1/2, 2001. (98/05072-8)

CASATTI, LILIAN. Biology of catfish, Trichomycterus sp. (Pisces, Siluriformes), in a pristine stream in the Morro do Diabo State Park, southeastern Brazil. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, v. 38, n. 2, p. 105-110, Aug. 2003. (00/01919-8, 98/05072-8)

CASTRO, RICARDO M. C.; RIBEIRO, ALEXANDRE C.; BENINE, RICARDO C.; MELO, ALEX L. A.. Lophiobrycon weitzmani, a new genus and species of glandulocaudine fish (Characiformes: Characidae) from the Rio Grande drainage, upper Rio Paraná system, southeastern Brazil. Neotropical Ichthyology, v. 1, n. 1, p. 11-19, July-Sept. 2003. (98/05072-8)

BRITSKI, HERALDO A.; GARAVELLO, JÚLIO C.. Hisonotus insperatus: New species, from the upper Rio parana basin (Pisces : Ostariophysi : Loricariidae). Copeia, v. 2003, n. 3, p. 588-593, Sept. 2003. (98/05072-8)

VARI, RICHARD P.; CASTRO, RICARDO M. C.. New species of Astyanax (Ostariophysi: Characiforms: Characidae) from the Upper Rio Paraná System, Brazil.. Copeia, v. 1, p. 150-162, Feb. 2007. (04/09219-6, 98/05072-8)