Ichthyofauna of a priority area for conservation in the Middle São Francisco River, southeast of Brazil

Abstract

Studies on the fish fauna in the São Francisco River Basin are still very fragmented in many of its sub-basins, especially in its middle portion, as is the case of the basin of the Paracatu River. The objectives of this study are to do an inventory of the fish fauna of Do Sono River, which belongs to the Paracatu Basin, and to provide information on their diversity. Samplings were done in the Do Sono River in two different expeditions. Twenty-five species of fishes, belonging to 6 orders and 15 families, were found. As expected, the orders with the highest number of species were Characiformes and Siluriformes. Sampling stations located downstream of Waterfall das Almas showed higher diversity of fishes than other sampling sites. The composition of the fish fauna found downstream of Waterfall das Almas is more similar to that found in the portion of the middle São Francisco River than the fish fauna recorded upstream of the waterfall. The Do Sono River is located in a priority area for conservation and the results suggest that it may be an important refuge, representing breeding or foraging sites for species of the São Francisco River.

Keywords: Das Almas Waterfalls, Fish diversity, São Francisco River Basin.