Abstract
Abstract The Xingu River has one of the most diverse fish faunas in the Amazon region. Loricariidae stands out as the most diverse family in the basin, comprising more than 60 species distributed over 26 genera. Species of Loricariidae are some of the most economically valued in the ornamental market worldwide. The loss of fishing environments in Altamira region due to dam impacts is driving a shift of ornamental fishing to areas upstream, among which are included the Xingu River and Iriri River Extractive Reserve Areas. Thus, the objective of this work was to inventory fish species with ornamental potential in these extractive reserves to serve as a baseline to help guide the future management of ornamental fishing in those areas. Thirty-two species of Loricariidae were collected in these reserves through either free diving or diving with compressed air. The composition of species varied according to the sampling method and area. The majority of species found in the reserves are also found in the impacted areas of Belo Monte near Altamira. The study areas showed high diversity of fish species in rapids environments, suggesting that this area could serve as an additional source of income for the residents of these reserves.
Highlights
The Xingu River is notable for being the fourth biggest tributary in the Amazon Basin (Goulding et al, 2003) and having the most extensive network of rapids in the world (Sawakuchi et al, 2015)
Management plans for these Conservation Areas (CA) currently lack data on the diversity and richness of the ichthyofauna in rapids environments. They do contain statements from fishermen that ornamental fish species richness is high in the area, and that these species were regularly captured in these areas before the reserves were created (ICMBio, 2010, 2012)
32 Loricariidae species were captured across the two reserves
Summary
The Xingu River is notable for being the fourth biggest tributary in the Amazon Basin (Goulding et al, 2003) and having the most extensive network of rapids in the world (Sawakuchi et al, 2015). The richness of Xingu fishes is among the highest in the Amazon region, comprising approximately 502 species in the entire basin (Dagosta, de Pinna, 2019); 50 of which are endemic to the Xingu (Zuanon, 1999; Sabaj-Pérez, 2015). Some Loricariidae species in the region are among the most important in the ornamental fish market; according to Araújo (2016), it is the group that attracts the most commercial interest in the region, being an important source of income for local fishermen. Due to combinations of overharvesting for the ornamental fish trade and habitat destruction, some species of Loricariidae have become threatened (Batista et al, 2004; Roman, 2011). It has not been possible to establish guidelines for managing these economic resources (Torres et al, 2008)
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