Occurrence of non-native species in a subtropical coastal River, in Southern Brazil

Larissa Faria,Fabrício De Andrade Frehse,Sibelle Trevisan Disaró,Barbara Maichak De Carvalho,Daniel Vicente Pupo,Thiago Vinícius Trento Occhi,Jean Ricardo Simões Vitule

doi:10.1590/s2179-975x2320

Larissa Faria, Fabrício De Andrade Frehse + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s2179-975x2320

Copy DOI

Abstract

Abstract: Aim This paper aims to concatenate and update the records of non-native species in a subtropical River, in Southern Brazil, warning about their possible impacts in this and other water bodies. Methods Monitoring was carried out in the Guaraguaçu River, the largest River of the Paraná coastal plain, located in the Atlantic Rainforest biome. Fishes were sampled in two periods: from 2002 to 2007 (monthly) and from 2016 to 2018 (semiannually), and the other organisms were collected in isolated samplings. Results The monitoring recorded the presence of six non-native species of animals in this River – four species of fish (Clarias gariepinus, Ictalurus punctatus, Oreochromis niloticus and Salminus brasiliensis), one invertebrate (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and one foraminifera (Ammoglobigerina globigeriniformis) introduced by escapes from aquaculture, sport fishing and ballast water. These introductions are problematic because they have the potential to impact upon the endangered native species in the River through predation, competition or novel diseases. Conclusions In Guaraguaçu River the increasing number of introductions is worrying because these species have in common a set of traits that turns them into potential invaders. It is of great importance to keep monitoring their populations in order to detect and minimize their negative impacts on native biota, once there is a conservation unit in the region (Guaraguaçu Ecological Station), with the aim to protect the environment in its pristine condition.

Highlights

The non-native species found in Guaraguaçu River have in common a set of traits that turns them into potential invaders in many environments or conditions (New et al, 2000; Martin et al, 2010; Gutierre et al, 2014; Weyl et al, 2016)
More worrying are the introductions of large predators such as Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822), Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818), and Salminus brasiliensis (Cuvier, 1816) because they have the potential to impact upon the endangered native species in the River through elevated predation pressure (Gubiani et al, 2010; Alexander et al, 2014; Faria et al, 2019)
A species considered an invading foraminifer was the most abundant at Guaraguaçu River in 2005 when it was registered for the first time in Paraná waters, dominating 6 of 23 sampling points, mostly around the mouth and at the lower portion of the River (Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

Resultados: O monitoramento registrou a presença de seis espécies de animais não-nativos neste rio – quatro espécies de peixe (Clarias gariepinus, Ictalurus punctatus, Oreochromis niloticus e Salminus brasiliensis), um invertebrado The introduction of non-native species is one of the major threats to freshwater ecosystems along with overexploitation, water pollution, flow modification and habitat degradation (Dudgeon et al, 2006).

Objectives

Results

Conclusion