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Ichthyofauna of the Una river in the Paraíba do Sul Paulista River Valley, Southeastern of Brazil

Ictiofauna do rio Una, Vale do Paraíba do Sul Paulista, sudeste do Brasil

Abstract:

This study focus on an inventory of the ichthyofauna of the Una river, a tributary of the Paraíba do Sul river, located in the region of Paraíba do Sul River Valley, in the State of São Paulo. Sampling was carried out in three sampling areas along the channel of the Una river between April 2016 and March 2017. For the collection of fish specimens, was used angling, fyke nets, cast nets, dragnets and hand nets. A total of 1.534 specimens were collected, which corresponds to five different orders, 14 families, 26 genera and thirty species. The study revealed that the most significant number of reported species are from the orders Siluriformes and Characiformes. The Characidae family was the most representative concerning the wealth of species and Astyanax aff. bimaculatus (two spot Astyanax | lambari-do-rabo-amarelo) was the species with the highest number of individuals captured. The freshwater ichthyofauna of the Una river is composed of eight species considered allochthonous and one exotic. Of the thirty species listed in this study, five are new records for the Paraíba do Sul river basin.

Keywords:
introduced species; new occurrence records; diversity; endemic species

Resumo:

Este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar o inventário da ictiofauna do rio Una, afluente do rio Paraíba do Sul na região do Vale do Paraíba do Sul Paulista. As coletas foram realizadas em três áreas de amostragem ao longo do canal do rio Una entre os meses de abril de 2016 e março de 2017. Para a coleta dos espécimes de peixes foram utilizadas varas de pesca, covos, tarrafas, redes do tipo tela de arrasto manual e puçás. Foi coletado um total de 1.534 exemplares pertencentes a cinco ordens, 14 famílias, 26 gêneros e trinta espécies. Siluriformes e Characiformes foram as ordens com o maior número de espécies registradas. A família Characidae foi a mais representativa em relação a riqueza de espécies e Astyanax aff. bimaculatus (lambari-do-rabo-amarelo), a espécie com maior número de indivíduos capturados. A ictiofauna do rio Una apresentou em sua composição oito espécies de origem alóctone e uma exótica. Das trinta espécies listadas neste trabalho, cinco são novos registros de ocorrência para a bacia do rio Paraíba do Sul.

Palavras-chave:
espécies introduzidas; novos registros de ocorrência; diversidade; espécies endêmicas

Introduction

Estimates show that among more than 33.900 species of fish described on the planet, 13.000 exclusively inhabit freshwater environments (Nelson et al. 2016NELSON, J. S., GRANDE, T. C. & WILSON, M.V. 2016. Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, p.752., Eschmeyer & Fong 2017ESCHMEYER, W. N. & FONG, J. D. 2017. Catalog of Fishes. http://researcharchive.Calademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp (último acesso em 02/08/2017).
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). Much of this freshwater fish species richness is found in tropical waters of the Neotropical Region, especially in the South American continent, where recent surveys indicate the presence of 5.160 valid species (Reis et al. 2016REIS, R. E., ALBERT, J. S., DI DARIO, F., MINCARONE, M. M., PETRY, P. & ROCHA, L. A. 2016. Fish biodiversity and conservation in South America. J. Fish Biol. 89(1): 12-47.). Brazil, the largest country of Neotropics, also presents the most diverse ichthyofauna in the world, where more than 3.300 species are currently registered (Froese & Pauly 2017FROESE, R. & PAULY, D. 2017. FishBase. Word Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.fishbase.org/home.htm (último acesso em: 22/08/2017).
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). This high number of species occurs mainly because of its geographical position and size of its hydrographic network (Agostinho et al. 2007AGOSTINHO, A. A., GOMES, L. C. & PELICICE, F. M. 2007. Ecologia e manejo de recursos pesqueiros em reservatórios do Brasil. EDUEM, Maringá.).

Among the large Brazilian hydrographic systems is the set of basins that drains the southeastern region of the country, generally called the Brazilian East (Menezes 1972MENEZES, N. A. 1972. Distribuição e origem da fauna de peixes de água doce das grandes bacias fluviais do Brasil. In Comissão Internacional da Bacia Paraná/Uruguai. Poluição e Piscicultura, Faculdade e Saúde Pública da USP e Instituto de Pesca, p.79-108.). These basins are characterized by being independent, small in size and draining directly into the Atlantic Ocean (Agostinho et al. 2007AGOSTINHO, A. A., GOMES, L. C. & PELICICE, F. M. 2007. Ecologia e manejo de recursos pesqueiros em reservatórios do Brasil. EDUEM, Maringá.). As a result of their respective geological and evolutionary histories, these basins present ichthyofaunas with high differentiation (Ribeiro 2006RIBEIRO, A. C. 2006. Tectonic history and the biogeography of the freshwater fishes from the coastal drainages of easter Brazil: in an example of faunal evolution associated with a divergent continental margin. Neotrop. Ichthyol., 4(3): 225-246.). One of the main basins of the Eastern Brazilian System, the Paraíba do Sul river basin, stands out for its highly endemic ichthyofauna, to the point of being considered a distinct ecoregion among the other regions forming this specific region of ichthyofauna (Abell et al. 2008ABELL, R., THIEME, M. L., REVENGA, C., BRYER, M., KOTTELAT, M., BOGUTSKAYA, N., COAD, B., MANDRAK, N., BALDERAS, S. C., BUSSING, W., STIASSNY, M. L. J., SKELTON, P., ALLEN, G. R., UNMACK, P., NASEKA, A., NG, R., SINDORF, N., ROBERTSON, J., ARMIJO, E., HIGGINS, J. V., HEIBEL, T. J., WIKRAMANAYAKE, E., OLSON, D., LÓPEZ, H. L., REIS, R. E., LUNDBERG, J. G., PÉREZ, M. H. S. & PETRY, P. 2008. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Biogeographic Units for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation. BioScience 58(5):403-414.).

Despite its intense environmental degradation, the Paraíba do Sul river basin is home to a highly diversified ichthyofauna (Teixeira et al. 2004TEIXEIRA, T. P., TERRA, B. F., ESTILANO, E. O., GARCIA, D., PINTO, B. C. T. & ARAÚJO, F. G. 2004. Distribuição da ictiofauna em locais impactados no rio Paraíba do Sul. Rev. Univ. Rural, Sér. Ci. Vida. Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, 2(2): 167-174.). Currently, this basin counts for the registration of 130 species of freshwater fish, 71 of which occurring in the State of São Paulo. However, ichthyofauna surveys are not common in the basin, especially in the areas belonging to the State of São Paulo, which have not been systematically inventoried yet. Many of the hydrographic basin's smaller tributaries remain poorly studied regarding its fish species composition (Bizerril 1999BIZERRIL, C. R. S. F. 1999. A ictiofauna da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, biodiversidade e padrões biogeográficos. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn. 42(1): 233-250., Melo et al. 2006MELO, F. C. A., MACHADO, A. C., OLIVEIRA, A. P. C., CRUZ, J. M. & LATINI, A. O. 2006. Ictiofauna do rio Carangola, bacia do rio Paraíba do Sul, no município de Carangola, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Lundiana 7(4): 133-144., Oyakawa & Menezes 2011OYAKAWA, O. T. & MENEZES, N. A. 2011. Checklist dos peixes de água doce do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Biota Neotrop.11(1): 19-31. http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v11n1a/pt/abstract?inventory+bn0021101a2011 (último acesso em 02/08/2017).
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).

The Una river, one of the most important tributaries of the Paraíba do Sul river in the State of São Paulo (Marengo & Alves 2005MARENGO, J. A. & ALVES, L. M. 2005. Tendências hidrológicas da bacia do rio Paraíba do Sul. Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia, Rio de Janeiro 20(2): 215-226.), is an example of a river virtually unknown from the ichthyological point of view. In this context, the objective of the present study is to carry out the first inventory of Una river fish species, which may serve as a tool in the development of conservation strategies for this area.

Material and methods

Study Area

The Paraíba do Sul river is formed by the union of the Paraitinga river and Paraibuna river in the State of São Paulo. The Paraíba do Sul river runs a distance of just over 1.000 km until it drains into the Atlantic Ocean in Atafona, a city in the State of Rio de Janeiro (Hilsdorf & Petrere Jr 2002HILSDORF, A.W.S. & PETRERE JR., M. 2002. Conservação de peixes na bacia do rio Paraíba do Sul. Ciência Hoje 30(180): 62-65.). In addition to the territory of São Paulo, the Paraíba do Sul river basin also drains the States of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, in a total area of approximately 57.000 km2 (Bizerril 1999BIZERRIL, C. R. S. F. 1999. A ictiofauna da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, biodiversidade e padrões biogeográficos. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn. 42(1): 233-250.).

The hydrographic basin of the Una river occupies a total area of 476 km2 distributed among the territory of the cities of Taubaté, Tremembé, Pindamonhangaba and Redenção da Serra, in the Paraíba do Sul River Valley region in the State of São Paulo (Batista et al. 2005BATISTA, G. T., TARGA, M. S. & FIDALGO, E. C. C. 2005. Banco de dados ambientais da Bacia do Rio Una, Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul. http://www.agro.unitau.br/una/ (último acesso em: 30/08/2017).
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). The Una river is formed by the union of the Santa Luzia river and the Almas stream in Taubaté, crossing a distance of 36 km and flowing from the south to the north until its confluence with the Paraíba do Sul river in the city of Tremembé, SP. As it crosses rural districts, the river receives several tributaries, having its course adapted to the relief (Prado & Abreu 1995PRADO, J. B. & ABREU, M. M. 1995. Aspectos Geográficos do Vale do Paraíba e Município de Taubaté. Coleção Taubateana, 14. Center Gráfica e Editora Ltda, Taubaté.) (Figure 1). If the length of its longest tributary is added, the Una river has a total length of approximately 70 km (Targa 2009TARGA, M. S. 2009. Estudo Hidrológico da Bacia do Rio Una: Subsídios para estabelecimento de plano de macrodrenagem no Vale do Paraíba do Sul - SP. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Ambientais - Unitau, Taubaté, p.1-14.).

Figure 1
Hydrographic map of the Paraíba do Sul river basin encompassing the States of São Paulo (SP), Minas Gerais (MG) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ), highlighting the limits of the Una river basin, Paraíba do Sul River Valley, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Sampling areas: 1) area I: 23º 05 '03.7 "S - 45º 29' 00.5" W; 2) area II: 23º 01 '39.8 "S - 45º 30' 24.2" W; 3) area III: 22º 55 '53.5 "S - 45º 31' 24.3" W.

The Una river runs at altitudes varying between 500 and 900 meters of elevation. The basin is limited by the mountain range of the Serra do Quebra-Cangalha, to the Northeast, and by the mountain range of the Serra do Jambeiro, to the Southwest. For this reason, the topography of the basin in its upper portion is rugged, smoothing towards its lower course (Prado & Abreu 1995PRADO, J. B. & ABREU, M. M. 1995. Aspectos Geográficos do Vale do Paraíba e Município de Taubaté. Coleção Taubateana, 14. Center Gráfica e Editora Ltda, Taubaté.). The natural vegetation, typical of the Atlantic Forest, is currently restricted to mountainous areas, such as on the slopes of the Serra da Mantiqueira, or inside small landowners properties in the form of small natural reserves (Freitas Junior & Marson 2007FREITAS JUNIOR, G. & MARSON, A. A. 2007. Estudo comparado de biogeografia - caracterização da vegetação do Vale do Paraíba paulista nos anos de 1817 e 2007. In: Seminário de Recursos Hídricos da Bacia Hidrográfica do Paraíba do Sul, 1. (SERHIDRO), IPABHI, Taubaté, p. 107-114.). The prevailing climate in the Una river basin is subtropical, with a dry winter and a hot and humid summer (Devide et al. 2014DEVIDE, A. C. P., CASTRO, C. M., RIBEIRO, R. L. D., ABBOUD, A. C. S., PEREIRA, M. G. & RUMJANEK, N. G. 2014. História Ambiental do Vale do Paraíba Paulista, Brasil. Revista Biociências, Taubaté 20(1): 12-29.).

The study area of this work consists of three collecting locations, here called area I, area II and area III located along the main channel of the Una river. Area I (23º 05 '03.7 "S - 45º 29' 00.5" W) is the upper region, located near the headwaters of the Una river, in the rural area of Taubaté. This region is characterized by the presence of riparian vegetation formed by medium to large trees and Gramineae, which are eventually submerged during the rainy season. The substratum is predominantly composed of sand, gravel, stones and plant material of allochthonous origin (Figure 2a, Figure 2b). Area II (23º 01 '39.8 "S - 45º 30' 24.2" W) is the intermediate portion of the Una river, located in a floodplain region. There is riparian vegetation composed of small to large trees, herbaceous vegetation and grasses (Gramineae) in constant contact with water. The substratum is predominantly composed of sand (Figure 2c, Figure 2d). Area III (22º 55 '53.5 "S - 45º 31' 24.3" W) corresponds to the lower portion of the Una river, located less than six hundred meters from the confluence with the Paraíba do Sul river in Tremembé. The riparian vegetation is formed by grasses and trees from medium to large size. The substratum is formed by sand, gravel, rocks and shale (Figure 2e, Figure 2f).

Figure 2
Overview of the three sampling areas along the Una river, in the Paraíba do Sul River Valley, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. a-b) area I - 23º 05' 03.7" S - 45º 29' 00.5" W; c-d) area II - 23º 01' 39.8" S - 45º 30' 24.2" W; e-f) area III - 22º 55' 53.5" S - 45º 31' 24.3" W.

Fish Collecting

Monthly sample collections were carried out between April 2016 and March 2017 in the three sampling areas within a delimited area of one hundred fifty meters each. Samples were performed by three people who spent up to four hours in each sampling area each time. Fishes were collected using angling, fyke nets (in the backwater area), and cast nets with fishnet mesh measurement varying from 0.5 to 3.0 cm between opposite knots. Dragging fish along the riparian vegetation with the aid of dragnets and seine nets were also used. Collection among rocky area in the riverbanks with the help of hand nets was also carried out.

The collected fish was immediately fixed in 10% formalin and then transferred to 70% ethanol solution. The specimens were identified with the use of identification keys and their status confirmed by specialist (Prof. Dr. Francisco Langeani Neto-DZSJRP). All the specimens sampled are deposited in the Coleção Científica do Laboratório de Zoologia da Universidade de Taubaté-CCLZU.

Fishes were classified in native, indigenous or autochthonous species (species which occur naturally in the basin); allochthonous species (species from different hydrographic basins within the Neotropical Region which were introduced into the Paraíba do Sul river); and exotic species (species from other continents which artificially entered the Paraíba do Sul river) (Oyakawa & Menezes 2011OYAKAWA, O. T. & MENEZES, N. A. 2011. Checklist dos peixes de água doce do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Biota Neotrop.11(1): 19-31. http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v11n1a/pt/abstract?inventory+bn0021101a2011 (último acesso em 02/08/2017).
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).

Results

A total of 1.534 specimens of freshwater fish was collected, belonging to five orders, 14 families, 26 genera and thirty species (Table 1, Figure 3, Figure 4). The order Siluriformes (43.3%, n = 13 species) was predominant regarding the number of species captured, followed by Characiformes (36.6%, n = 11 species), Perciformes (13.3%, n = four species), Gymnotiformes (3.4%, n = one species) and Synbranchiformes (3.4%, n = one species).

Table 1
Taxonomic list of collected species in the tree sampling areas along the Una river, Paraíba do Sul River Valley, São Paulo, in the period from April 2016 to March 2017. (*) Allochthonous species, (**) exotic species.

Figure 3
Registered species in the Una river in the period from April 2016 to March 2017. a) Apareiodon affinis, 39,9 mm; b) Characidium pterostictum, 46,6 mm; c) Prochilodus lineatus, 250,0 mm; d) Astyanax aff. bimaculatus, 73,4 mm; e) Astyanax giton, 72,2 mm; f) Astyanax parahybae, 82,0 mm; g) Bryconamericus iheringii, 49,1 mm; h) Hyphessobrycon eques, 28,0 mm; i) Metynnis sp., 84,9 mm; j) Oligosarcus hepsetus, 63,8 mm; k) Hoplias malabaricus, 244,1 mm; l) Trichomycterus albinotatus, 141,3 mm; m) Corydoras nattereri, 44,4 mm; n) Hoplosternum littorale, 165,1 mm; o) Ancistrus multispinis, 73,2 mm; p) Hypostomus affinis, 151,9 mm.

Figure 4
Registered species in the Una river in the period from April 2016 to March 2017. a) Hypostomus cf. luetkeni, 113,1 mm; b) Parotocinclus maculicauda, 31,5 mm; c) Rineloricaria cf. steindachneri, 112,1 mm; d) Rineloricaria sp., 149,5 mm; e) Pimelodella lateristriga, 107,2 mm; f) Rhamdia quelen, 155,3 mm; g) Pimelodus maculatus, 210,5 mm; h) Glanidium melanopterum, 180,4 mm; i) Gymnotus carapo, 195,4 mm; j) Synbranchus marmoratus, 480,0 mm; k) Cichlasoma portalegrense, 100,0 mm; l) Crenicichla lacustris, 97,1 mm; m) Geophagus brasiliensis, 121,7 mm; n) Oreochromis niloticus, 190,0 mm.

The most representative families were the Characidae (seven species), Loricariidae (six species) and Cichlidae (four species). Characidae was also the most representative family concerning the number of specimens collected (44.2%), followed by the families Loricariidae (23.4%) and Cichlidae (9%). Astyanax aff. bimaculatus was the species with the highest number of specimens collected (37.4%), followed by Hypostomus cf. luetkeni (12.6%) and Corydoras nattereri (8.6%).

Of the thirty species recorded here, eight are considered as allochthonous: Apareiodon affinis Characidium pterostictum, Bryconamericus iheringii, Hyphessobrycon eques, Metynnis sp., Ancistrus multispinis, Pimelodus maculatus and Cichlasoma portalegrense. Apareiodon affinis, C. pterostictum, B. iheringii, A. multispinis and C. portalegrense also new records for the Paraíba do Sul river basin. One species was considered exotic: Oreochromis niloticus.

Discussion

The predominance of Siluriformes (catfish) and Characiformes (characins) in the composition of the ichthyofauna of the Una river corroborates the pattern of fish biodiversity and abundance of the Paraíba do Sul river basin (Bizerril 1999BIZERRIL, C. R. S. F. 1999. A ictiofauna da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, biodiversidade e padrões biogeográficos. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn. 42(1): 233-250.), the rivers of the Brazilian East (Bizerril 1994BIZERRIL, C. R. S. F. 1994. Análise taxonômica e biogeográfica da ictiofauna de água doce do leste brasileiro. Acta Biol. Leopoldensia 16(1): 51-80.), the freshwater environments of Brazil (Buckup et al. 2007BUCKUP, P. A., MENEZES, A. A. & GHAZZI, M. S. 2007. Catálogo das espécies de peixes de água doce do Brasil. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro.) and the Neotropical Region (Reis et al. 2016REIS, R. E., ALBERT, J. S., DI DARIO, F., MINCARONE, M. M., PETRY, P. & ROCHA, L. A. 2016. Fish biodiversity and conservation in South America. J. Fish Biol. 89(1): 12-47.). In general, the ichthyofauna recorded in the Una river is very similar to that reported for the Paraíba do Sul river basin in the works of Bizerril (1999)BIZERRIL, C. R. S. F. 1999. A ictiofauna da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, biodiversidade e padrões biogeográficos. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn. 42(1): 233-250. and Teixeira et al. (2004)TEIXEIRA, T. P., TERRA, B. F., ESTILANO, E. O., GARCIA, D., PINTO, B. C. T. & ARAÚJO, F. G. 2004. Distribuição da ictiofauna em locais impactados no rio Paraíba do Sul. Rev. Univ. Rural, Sér. Ci. Vida. Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, 2(2): 167-174.. Twenty-two species listed for the Una river had previously been cited in Element Occurrence (EO) Reports produced by those authors to Paraíba do Sul river basin. Considering only the portion of this basin in the São Paulo State, Oyakawa & Menezes (2011)OYAKAWA, O. T. & MENEZES, N. A. 2011. Checklist dos peixes de água doce do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Biota Neotrop.11(1): 19-31. http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v11n1a/pt/abstract?inventory+bn0021101a2011 (último acesso em 02/08/2017).
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registered 71 species, of which 19 species were listed in the present study.

Astyanax aff. bimaculatus was the most abundant species in the three sampling areas along the Una river. It belongs to a group of species sharing similar color pattern, composed of at least 22 valid species distributed in practically all the hydrographic basins of South America, representing, certainly, one of the most abundant morphotypes in the continent (Lucena & Soares 2016LUCENA, C. A. & SOARES, H. G. 2016. Review of species of the Astyanax bimaculatus "caudal peduncle spot" subgroup sensu Garutti & Langeani (Characiformes, Characidae) from the rio La Plata and rio São Francisco drainages and coastal systems of southern Brazil and Uruguay. Zootaxa 4071(1): 101-125.). This freshwater fish species shows reduced size, high reproduction rate, and rapid growth. It is an opportunistic feeder, relatively unselective for zooplankton, detritus, higher plants and sometimes the scales of fish. This behavior certainly favors its distribution in most different environments that occur (Arcifa et al. 1991ARCIFA, M. S., NORTHCOTE, T. G. & FROEHLICH, O. 1991. Interactive ecology of two cohabiting characin fishes (Astyanax fasciatus and Astyanax bimaculatus) in a eutrophic Brazilian reservoir. J. Trop. Ecol. 7(1): 257-268., Esteves & Galleti Jr 1995ESTEVES, K. E. & P. M. GALETTI JR. 1995. Food partitioning among some characids of a small Brazilian foodplain lake from the Paraná River basin. Environ. Biol. Fish. 42(1): 375-389., Melo 2001MELO, F. A. G. 2001. Revisão taxonômica das espécies do gênero Astyanax Baird & Girard, 1854, (Teleostei: Characiformes: Characidae) da região da Serra dos Órgãos. Arquivos do Museu Nacional 59(1): 1-46., Andrian et al. 2011ANDRIAN, I. F., SILVA, H. B. R. & PERETTI, D. 2001. Dieta de Astyanax bimaculatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Characiformes, Characidae), da área de influência do reservatório Corumbá, estado de Goiás, Brasil. Acta Scientiarum, Maringá 23(2): 435-440.).

Other two abundant species recorded in this work were Heptapteridae, Pimelodella lateristriga, and the Callichthyidae, Corydoras nattereri. Astyanax aff. bimaculatus and P. lateristriga are generalist species, showing great plasticity in their foraging behavior, which favor their high incidence in the environments they inhabit (Mazzoni et al. 2010MAZZONI, R., MORAES, M., REZENDE, C. F. & IGLESIAS-RIOS, R. 2010. Diet and feeding daily rhythm of Pimelodella lateristriga (Osteichthyes, Siluriformes) in a coastal stream from Serra do Mar, RJ. Braz. J. Biol., São Carlos 70(4): 1123-1129.). Corydoras nattereri belongs to a group composed of freshwater fish species which withstand the stress of low oxygen levels in water. They have been known to inhabit stretches of slow water in rivers, areas where there is a higher sediment deposition rate (Reis 2003REIS, R. E. 2003. Family Callichthyidae (armored catfishes). In Checklist of South and Central America (Reis, R. E., Kullander, S. O. & Ferraris, C. J. J., eds.) Edipucrs, Porto Alegre, p. 291-309.). This species showed greater abundance in the intermediate portion of Una river, located in a floodplain region, where the river presents lower current and high sediment accumulation.

Among the 19 native species of the Paraíba do Sul river basin sampled in the Una river, Corydoras nattereri and Parotocinclus maculicauda have not been formally recorded along the São Paulo portion of the basin. Their known distribution lies within tributaries located in the States of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. In this work, Bizerril (1999)BIZERRIL, C. R. S. F. 1999. A ictiofauna da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, biodiversidade e padrões biogeográficos. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn. 42(1): 233-250. mentioned the preference of C. nattereri for stretches of sediment-laden water along the final portions of the Paraíba do Sul river located in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Vieira & Rodrigues (2010)VIEIRA, F.; RODRIGUES, R. R. 2010. A fauna de peixes dos afluentes do rio Paraíba do Sul no estado de Minas Gerais. MG-Biota 3(1): p. 5-23. listed the presence of P. maculicauda in the Muriaé river, a tributary of Paraíba do Sul river located in the State of Minas Gerais.

Among the eight allocthonous species aforementioned for the Una river, Hyphessobrycon eques, Metynnis sp. and Oreochromis niloticus are economically important. The reduced size and reddish coloration of H. eques make it an appreciated species in the aquarium trade. This species occurs naturally in the Amazon basin and the Paraguay river and has been introduced in the Upper Paraná river basin and the Brazilian East coastal rivers (Lima et al. 2007LIMA, F. C. T., BUCKUP, P. A., MENEZES, N. A., LUCENA, C. A. S., LUCENA, Z. M. S., TOLEDO-PIZA, M. & ZANATA, A. 2007. Família Characidae insertae sedis. In Catálogo das espécies de peixes de água doce do Brasil. Museu Nacional. Rio de Janeiro, p. 64-105.). The introduction of ornamental fish species into lotic ecosystems usually occurs through intentional release of specimens into freshwater bodies (Fuller et al. 1999FULLER, P. L., NICO, L. G. & WILLIAMS, J. D. 1999. Nonindigenous fishes introduced into inland waters of the United States. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda., Semmens et al. 2004SEMMENS, B. X., BUHLE, E. R., SALOMON, A. K. & PATTENGILL-SEMMENS, C. V. 2004. A hotspot of non-native marine fishes: evidence for the aquarium trade as an invasion pathway. MAR. ECOL-PROG. SER. 266(1): 239-244., Moraes et al. 2017MORAES, M. B., POLAZ, C. N. M., CARAMASCHI, E. P., SANTOS JÚNIOR, S. S., SOUZA, G. & CARVALHO, F. L. 2017. Espécies Exóticas e Alóctones da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul: Implicações para a Conservação. Biodiversidade Brasileira 7(1): 34-54.). In the Paraíba do Sul river basin, this situation is aggravated by the presence of the most extensive ornamental freshwater fish aquaculture park in Brazil, located in the Minas Gerais portion of the basin (Magalhães et al. 2002MAGALHÃES, A. L. B., AMARAL, I. B., RATTON, T. F. & BRITO, M. F. G. 2002. Ornamental exotic fishes in the Glória reservoir and Boa Vista Stream, Paraíba do Sul river basin, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Comunicações do Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia, Série Zoologia 15(1): 265-278.).

Oreochromis niloticus is the most exploited species in freshwater fish farm cage systems in the world. This fact is mainly due to its high productivity and tolerance diverse environmental conditions (Carvalho et al. 2010CARVALHO, E. D., CAMARGO, A. L. S. & ZANATTA, A. S. 2010. Desempenho produtivo da tilápia do Nilo em tanques-rede numa represa pública: modelo empírico de classificação. Cienc. Rural. Santa Maria 40(7): 1616-1622.). Metynnis spp. are commonly used in aquarium ornamentation. This genus is frequently cited in articles and inventories along the Paraíba do Sul river basin as allochthonous into the system (Moraes et al. 2017MORAES, M. B., POLAZ, C. N. M., CARAMASCHI, E. P., SANTOS JÚNIOR, S. S., SOUZA, G. & CARVALHO, F. L. 2017. Espécies Exóticas e Alóctones da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul: Implicações para a Conservação. Biodiversidade Brasileira 7(1): 34-54.). In fact, according Ota (2015)OTA, R. P. 2015. Revisão taxonômica e Filogenia morfológica de Metynnis Cope, 1878 (Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). Tese de Doutorado, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Amazônicas, Manaus, Amazonas., there are no occurrence records of Metynnis in Southeast coastal rivers until the 1990s.

The presence of O. niloticus and Metynnis in the Paraíba do Sul river basin is attributed to irregular escapes from cage systems of freshwater fish farms. These cages are prone to allow fish to escape during floods caused by heavy rains (Orsi & Agostinho 1999ORSI, M. L. & AGOSTINHO, A. A. 1999. Introdução de peixes por escapes acidentais de tanques de cultivo em rios da Bacia do Rio Paraná, Brasil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 2(16): 557-560., Moraes et al. 2017MORAES, M. B., POLAZ, C. N. M., CARAMASCHI, E. P., SANTOS JÚNIOR, S. S., SOUZA, G. & CARVALHO, F. L. 2017. Espécies Exóticas e Alóctones da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul: Implicações para a Conservação. Biodiversidade Brasileira 7(1): 34-54.). The presence of this kind of enterprise is quite common along the Una river, mainly in their medium and lower courses, located in the municipalities of Taubaté and Tremembé.

Other allochthonous species listed to the Una river, Apareiodon affinis, Characidium pterostictum, Bryconamericus iheringii, Ancistrus multispinis and Cichlasoma portalegrense are new reports records for the Paraíba do Sul river basin. Among these species, A. affinis presents the largest geographical distribution in Brazilian systems, being frequently found in the Paraná and Uruguay basins, in addition to other hydrographic systems located in well sampled regions (Godoy 1975GODOY, M. P. 1975. Peixes do Brasil: subordem Characoidei, 1, Franciscana, Piracicaba., Pavanelli 1999PAVANELLI, C. S. 1999. Revisão taxonômica da família Parodontidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes). Tese de Doutorado, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo., 2007PAVANELLI, C. S. 2007. Família Parodontidae. In Check List of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. (Reis, R. E., Kullander, S. O. & Ferraris, C. J. J., eds.). Edipucrs, Porto Alegre, p. 4-6.). In this study, A. affinis and C. pterostictum were restricted to the final portion of the Una river, near the it confluence with Paraíba do Sul river in Tremembé. It is still not possible to point out the causes of the presence of these five species in the Una river. However, it is probable that future biogeographic analysis of the region will elucidate this issue.

The presence of a relatively high number of species from other freshwater systems is not a particular feature of the Una river but also of the Paraíba do Sul river basin, where currently there are records of more fifty non-native species (Vieira & Rodrigues 2010VIEIRA, F.; RODRIGUES, R. R. 2010. A fauna de peixes dos afluentes do rio Paraíba do Sul no estado de Minas Gerais. MG-Biota 3(1): p. 5-23.). In a recent analysis, the introduction of species has been pointed out as one of the leading causes of extinction of freshwater fish species in this basin, as in lotic ecosystems in general (Bizerril 1999BIZERRIL, C. R. S. F. 1999. A ictiofauna da Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, biodiversidade e padrões biogeográficos. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn. 42(1): 233-250., Simberloff 2003SIMBERLOFF, D. 2003. How Much Information on Population Biology Is Needed to Manage Introduced Species? Conserv. Biol. 17(1): 83-92.).

The species list of the Una river contributes to fill part of knowledge gap regarding the fish fauna distribution in the Paraíba do Sul river basin in the State of São Paulo, by the inventory of an area unstudied until this moment, being able to serve as subsidies for the elaboration of future management actions in the Paraíba do Sul Valley region.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Antônio Teotonio Honorio, Neide Aparecida Honorio and Marlene Marta da Silva Honorio for their help during fieldwork; Francisco Langeani Neto (DZSJRP) for the valuable help in the identification of the specimens and all the scientific assistance given to the authors of this article. We would also like to thank Eduardo Henrique Teixeira (CCLZ/UNITAU) and Roselene Silva Costa Ferreira (DZSJRP) for assistance in laboratory work; and FAPETI (Foundation for Research, Technology and Innovation Support) for the financial support granted to this research.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    30 Aug 2018
  • Date of issue
    2018

History

  • Received
    04 June 2018
  • Accepted
    23 July 2018
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