Igarapés of the Saracá-Taquera National Forest, PA: habitat characteristics, community structure and beta diversity of ichthyofauna along the land use gradient

• Grant number: 23/12092-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Lilian Casatti
• Grantee: Vitória Nogueira Pedro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Protected areas aimed at conserving biodiversity are not free from human interference, such as deforestation and mining. These activities impact the terrestrial and aquatic environment, notably the small streams, known as igarapés in the Amazonian biome. The present project aims to study the fish fauna of 24 igarapés of the Saracá-Taquera National Forest, in the state of Pará, to determine whether the local characteristics of these igarapés reflect the percent of forest coverage in the watersheds and the main activities in the surroundings (area of timber production, mining area, area outside the unit of conservation). The species richness, abundance and biomass of each species in each sampled igarapé will also be evaluated, in order to assess whether these community descriptors are explained by the proximity between the sites, igarapés' characteristics and/or forest cover. And, finally, beta diversity patterns will be described to assess whether the proximity between sites, igarapés' characteristics and/or forest cover explain these patterns, and what are the processes that generate these patterns.