Ictiofauna de igarapés de pequenas bacias de drenagem em área agrícola do Nordeste Paraense, Amazônia Oriental

Abstract

Stream fish communities can show spatial and temporal patterns, which can be revealed by species association or species groups as well as by species preference to certain habitats. The reduced number of studies and the scarce knowledge on the aquatic fauna in the Amazon results on an under-estimative upon stream fish fauna diversity. In this study, a survey at three small Amazonian catchments located in family agriculture areas, a total of 2,117 individuals were collected, belonging to seven orders, 13 families, 27 genera and 43 species. The most abundant species in all samples was Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus, totaling 337 individuals, followed by Bryconops melanurus, with 326 individuals. The species richness was highest in a Pachibá stream reach, with 21 species. Simpson’s diversity index in a Cumaru stream reach showed the highest species dominance with a value of 0.43, while Shannon’s diversity index showed that the Pachibá stream lowest reach, had the greatest diversity with a value of 2.39. Iguanodectes rachovii was the most constant species, occurring in 50% of samples. Therefore, as a response to habitat size, the intermediate stream reaches presented the highest species diversity. Our study showed that agricultural catchments dominated by smallholder farmers can bear a reasonable stream fish diversity.