Characterization of the commercial fish production landed at Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil

The present work aims to update a series of information about the regional fishing production, by presenting and characterizing the contribution of the different sub-systems of the Amazon basin to the catch landed at the main fishing market of Manaus, Brazil, from 1994 to 1996. Collectors specifically hired for this function registered key information on the fisheries. Thirty nine types or groups of fish were found in the fishing production landed. Jaraqui (Semaprochilodus spp.), curimatã (Prochilodus nigricans), pacu (Myleinae), matrinchã (Brycon cephalus), sardine (Triportheus spp.), aracu (Anostomidae) and tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) were the most important items during three consecutive years. In 1994 these items summed up 91.6% of the total production; in 1995 and 1996 these values were, respectively, 85.3% and 86.4% of the total production. Tambaqui landed decreased remarkably during the period 1976-1996. There was a strong seasonal component in the production of the main species; jaraqui and matrinchã were mostly landed between April and June, while curimatã, pacu, and sardine were mostly landed during the dry season. Other important items showed a strong inter-annual variation in their production. The fishing production landed came mostly from the sub-system of the Purus River (around 30% of the total production). The subsystem of the Medium-Solimões contributed with an average of 15% and the sub-systems of the Madeira, Lower-Solimões, Upper-Amazon and Juruá, together contributed with 11.5% of the total production landed. Finally, the remaining sub-systems contributed with only 7.6% of the production.

Diet and ecomorphology of Leporinus reticulatus (Characiformes: Anostomidae) from the upper Rio Juruena, MT, Brazil: ontogenetic shifts related to the feeding ecology

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Ecological carrying capacity for intensive tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cage aquaculture in a large hydroelectrical reservoir in Southeastern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Molecular characterization of intestinal protozoa in two poor communities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Identification guide to some Diaptomid species (Crustacea, Copepoda, Calanoida, Diaptomidae) of "de la Plata" River Basin (South America)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Morphological aspects of Henneguya aequidens n. sp (Myxozoa: Myxobolidae) in Aequidens plagiozonatus Kullander, 1984 (Teleostei: Cichlidae) in the Amazon region, Brazil

A new species of Myxosporea, Henneguya aequidens sp. n. (Myxozoa: Myxobolidae), was described based on its ultrastructural features. This is a parasite of the freshwater fish Aequidens plagiozonatus, in the Peixe-boi River, Para, Brazil. This parasite was found in the gills, in the form of whitish ellipsoid cysts with mature spores inside them. The average spore body was 15 +/- 0.9 mu m in length (n = 30) and 6 +/- 0.8 mu m in width (n = 30), and the tail measured 27 +/- 0.5 mu m in length (n = 15). The spores showed typical features of the genus Henneguya with two valves of equal size and two symmetrical polar capsules of 3 +/- 0.3 mu m in length and 2 +/- 0.3 mu m in width. Each polar capsule had a polar filament forming a helix from the apical region to the polar caps, with four to six turns. Based on the ultrastructural differences in morphology of these spores, the location of the parasite, and its host specificity, this parasite was described as a new species.

Influence of landscape properties on stream water quality in agricultural catchments in Southeastern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Characterization of typical aquatic humic substances in areas of sugarcane cultivation in Brazil using tetramethylammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Contamination of wetland soils and floodplain sediments from agricultural activities in the Cerrado Biome (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Detection of hormones in surface and drinking water in Brazil by LC-ESI-MS/MS and ecotoxicological assessment with Daphnia magna

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Comparing environmental impacts of native and introduced freshwater prawn farming in Brazil and the influence of better effluent management using LCA

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Two new species of Pseudancistrus (Siluriformes, Loricariidae) from the Amazon basin, northern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Multistep taphonomic alterations in fluvial mollusk shells: a case study in the touro passo formation (pleistocene–holocene), Southern Brazil

Accurate paleoenvironmental reconstruction relies on the correct interpretation of the postmortem history of skeletal remains in shelly assemblages. In contrast to marine settings, actualistic taphonomic studies are lacking for shell-rich concentrations in freshwater riverine systems. In particular, the taphonomic pathways and the origins of taphonomic signatures that are recorded in bioclasts from fluvial settings are poorly known. In this study, we addressed this issue by comparing the taphonomic signatures and shell-damage profiles among shells of freshwater mollusks recorded both in death and in fossil assemblages from the same fluvial environment. Our data indicated that dissolution was the most pervasive taphonomic process leading to the destruction of the shells. The loss of taphonomic information extended beyond shell dissolution in the riverbed, or the early diagenesis in the sedimentary record. The loss of biological information from the living community through the death assemblage, until the incorporation of shells as fossils, mainly occurred during the time the shells were in the sediment-water interface. Though this destruction affected primarily dead shells, reworked fossils also became vulnerable because they were carried out into the river load again by channel avulsion. A model that included the main taphonomic pathways followed by the molluscan shells in the fluvial Touro Passo Formation (Pleistocene-Holocene) is discussed. In this model, two main destructive domains were recognized, which were the biological, physical, and chemical processes operating at the taphonomically active zone (= TAZ domain) and the pedogenetic domain.

Does water level affect benthic macro-invertebrates of a marginal lake in a tropical river-reservoir transition zone?

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Distribution, composition and seasonality of aquatic birds in the Nhecolandia sub-region of South Pantanal, Brazil

Despite remarkable significance of Pantanal for the conservation of aquatic birds, the status of their populations, the spatiotemporal patterns of distribution and habitat use and structure of communities are little known. Thus, we studied three aquatic environments (Negro river, bays and salines) from 2007 to 2009 in the Nhecolandia Pantanal to verify the distribution and composition of aquatic birds and also if there is significant seasonal influence on these aspects. We adopted the transect method (288 hours of sampling) and recorded 135 species (7.834 individuals). The Negro river showed the highest diversity, while the salines the lowest. The similarity of aquatic bird communities was higher between bays and salines, followed by Negro river and bays and lower between salines and Negro river. The equidistribution is more variable in the salines and more stable in the Negro river. The environments strongly differ from each other in aquatic bird composition in space (habitat use and distribution) and time (seasonal water fluctuations). The diversity of bird community in the dry season varies significantly in the salines, followed by the bays and more stable in the Negro river. The Negro river, regardless of large annual amplitude of flow, is more seasonally stable since its riparian vegetation is continuous (not isolated) and constant. These aspects provide better conditions to stay all year, contributing to decrease the seasonal nomadic tendencies of aquatic birds. Finally, all these data provide strong arguments to the preservation of all phytophysiognomies in the Nhecolandia sub-region of Pantanal, but with special attention to the salines widely used by many flocks of aquatic birds (mainly in the dry season) and migrant and/or rare species restricted to this habitat.