First record of Moenkhausia costae (Steindachner 1907) in the Paraíba do Norte basin after the São Francisco River diversion

Authors

  • Telton Pedro Anselmo Ramos Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Departamento de Biologia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3808-8701
  • Silvia Yasmin Lustosa-Costa Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2405-7039
  • Railla Maria Oliveira Lima Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Departamento de Biologia
  • José Etham de Lucena Barbosa Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Departamento de Biologia
  • Rosemberg Fernandes Menezes Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Fitotecnia e Ciências Ambientais https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9949-8221

Keywords:

drylands, reservoirs, water transfer, non-native species, water shortage

Abstract

Abstract: Construction of water diversions in drylands is boosted by increasing demands for freshwater often due to prolonged droughts. Even though these mega-enterprises result in benefits to society, it also poses a threat to freshwater biodiversity. In Northeastern Brazil, for instance, the São Francisco River Integration Project already supplies water for millions of people, but over time it will also favor the introductions of multiple aquatic species in the river basins of the Northeastern Caatinga and Coastal Drainages ecoregion. These introductions can cause unprecedented impacts in the native ichthyofauna, such as homogenization of freshwater faunas, transmission of pathogens and loss of native species. This study compares the composition and relative frequency of fish species from Poções reservoir using data obtained by gillnetting and trawling before and after the São Francisco diversion in the dry and rainy seasons, and reports the first detection of Moenkhausia costae introduction in the Paraíba do Norte basin, through the São Francisco River channel. Our results show some evidences that M. costae may become dominant and invasive in Poções reservoir. The introduction of M. costae adds a new component of disruption for these freshwaters and may pose a serious threat to the endemic ichthyofauna in lentic and lotic systems from the Paraíba do Norte basin.

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Published

2021-01-01

How to Cite

Ramos, T. P. A., Lustosa-Costa, S. Y., Lima, R. M. O., Barbosa, J. E. de L., & Menezes, R. F. (2021). First record of Moenkhausia costae (Steindachner 1907) in the Paraíba do Norte basin after the São Francisco River diversion. Biota Neotropica, 21(2). Retrieved from //www.biotaneotropica.org.br/BN/article/view/1823

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