Tectonic history and the biogeography of the freshwater fishes from the coastal drainages of eastern Brazil: an example of faunal evolution associated with a divergent continental margin

As drenagens costeiras do leste do Brasil correspondem a áreas de grande significado biogeográfico, apresentando um alto grau de endemismo em sua fauna de peixes. Padrões filogenéticos sugerem uma relação próxima entre os rios que correm para o Atlântico a os adjacentes das terras altas do escudo cristalino. Entretanto, pouco tem sido dito sobre a dinâmica dos processos geológicos relacionados aos eventos cladogenéticos entre estas áreas. Padrões de distribuição e filogenéticos sugerem uma íntima associação com a história geológica da margem continental passiva da América do Sul, desde o Cretáceo aos dias atuais. Soerguimentos macrodômicos, rifteamento, movimentos verticais entre blocos falhados e o recuo erosivo da margem leste sul-americana são considerados como as principais forças geológicas atuando sobre a distribuição da ictiofauna de água doce nestas áreas. A atividade tectônica associada à ruptura do Gondwana e separação da América do Sul e África criou seis megadomos que são responsáveis por configurar a maior parte do atual curso das principais bacias hidrográficas do escudo cristalino. Com exceção das bacias localizadas às margens de tais megadomos, estes rios desenvolveram longos e sinuosos circuitos sobre o antigo escudo cristalino brasileiro antes de desaguarem no então recentemente aberto Oceano Atlântico. Eventos cladogenéticos iniciais entre drenagens de terras altas do escudo cristalino e tributários do Atlântico podem estar associados com processos vicariantes desta fase inicial, e alguns táxons antigos, basais, grupos-irmão de táxons muito inclusivos e de ampla distribuição são encontrados nestas bacias hidrográficas. Mais tarde, a denudação erosiva generalizada resultou em um ajuste isostático da margem leste da plataforma. Tal ajuste, concomitantemente a reativações de antigas zonas de falha, resultou em movimentos verticais entre blocos falhados, dando origem, no sudeste do Brasil, a bacias tafrogênicas. Tais bacias, como a de Taubaté, São Paulo, Curitiba e Volta Redonda, entre outras, capturaram drenagens e fauna de terras altas adjacentes. Os peixes fósseis da Formação Tremembé (Eoceno-Oligoceno da Bacia de Taubaté) exemplificam este processo. Outros sistemas tafrogênicos de idade Terciária foram também identificados em outros segmentos da margem continental Atlântica, como na Província Borborema, no NE do Brasil, com marcada influência sobre o padrão de drenagem. Ao mesmo tempo, o recuo erosivo da margem leste da plataforma capturou sucessivamente rios de planalto, os quais se tornaram tributários atlânticos, evoluindo associados aos principais sistemas de falha. A natureza continuada destes processos explica os padrões filogenéticos e de distribuição miscigenados entre os tributários atlânticos e as terras altas do escudo cristalino adjacente, especialmente na margem sudeste do continente, representados por sucessivos, cada vez menos inclusivos, grupos irmãos, associados a eventos cladogenéticos desde o final do Cretáceo ao presente.

Unique Derived Features in Spermiogenesis and Sperm Morphology Supporting a Close Relationship between the Species of Hollandichthys and Rachoviscus (Characiformes: Characidae)

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

Fishes of the Atlantic Rainforest of Boraceia: testimonies of the Quaternary fault reactivation within a Neoproterozoic tectonic province in Southeastern Brazil

The upper portion of the Rio Guaratuba, located in the Serra do Mar coastal range of Southeastern Brazil, shows biological and geological evidences of being captured and diverted away from its original course in the direction of the Parana River Basin to become a coastal river due to the Quaternary activity of NW-trending faults. Despite draining directly to the Atlantic Ocean, the upper portion of the Guaratuba still maintains an ichthyofauna that is typical of the adjoining Parana River Basin rather than the characteristic fish fauna of the Brazilian coastal drainages. The fish fauna of the upper Guaratuba is an evident testimony of the tectonic process that allowed the faunal interchange between the upland basins and the coastal drainages that probably has been taking place in Southeastern Brazil throughout the long geological history of the passive Brazilian continental margin.

A ictiofauna de cabeceiras do rio Tietê, São Paulo, Brasil

Uma síntese das espécies de peixes de cabeceiras do rio Tietê é apresentada com base em material de coleções zoológicas e novas coletas realizadas. São referidas para região 56 espécies pertencentes a sete ordens e 16 famílias, aumentando significativamente números anteriores. Os resultados mostram que as cabeceiras do rio Tietê possuem uma composição ictiofaunistica bastante peculiar, distinta daquela encontrada no restante do Alto rio Paraná, mostrando acentuado grau de endemismo e grande similaridade com bacias hidrográficas litorâneas, corroborando a hipótese de captura de rios da região por drenagens costeiras e vice e versa no passado. Dentre as espécies encontradas na região, oito são endêmicas (14,3%), 13 são encontradas nas cabeceiras do rio Tietê e drenagens litorâneas da região sudeste do Brasil (23,2%), dez ocorrem em todo Alto rio Paraná (17,9%), cinco são encontradas no Alto rio Paraná e drenagens litorâneas da região sudeste do Brasil (8,9%), enquanto 13 espécies mostram uma ampla distribuição na América do Sul (23,2%), das quais parte ainda precisa ter a identidade confirmada. A diversidade de espécies é acrescida de pelo menos cinco espécies novas pertencentes aos gêneros Cyphocharax, Characidium, Astyanax, Pareiorhina e Australoheros e quatro novos registros são feitos para Characidium cf. zebra, Scleromystax barbatus, Crenicicla britskii e Synbranchus cf. marmoratus. Pelo menos sete espécies introduzidas estão estabelecidas na região, enquanto outras dez espécies são relacionadas em listas de espécies ameaçadas.

Revision of the genus Pseudotocinclus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae: Hypoptopomatinae), with descriptions of two new species

O gênero Pseudotocinclus é revisado e duas novas espécies são descritas: Pseudotocinclus juquiae da bacia do rio Ribeira de Iguape e Pseudotocinclus parahybae da bacia do rio Paraíba do Sul. A presença de uma pequena área nua na ponta do focinho distingue P. tietensis de P. parahybae e P. juquiae, que apresentam a ponta do focinho coberta por pequenas placas. Além disso, P. tietensis tem quatro bandas transversas marrom-escuras na região dorsal do corpo, fundidas com uma barra mediana lateral, ao invés de três bandas, como nas demais espécies. Pseudotocinclus juquiae distingue-se de suas congêneres pela presença de um anel orbital muito proeminente e conspícuo não observado em P. tietensis ou P. parahybae. As três espécies também diferem quanto a seus dados morfométricos e merísticos. São apresentados comentários a respeito das conexões pretéritas das bacias dos rios Ribeira de Iguape, alto Tietê e Paraíba do Sul.

Revisão taxonômica de Bryconamericus iheringii (Boulenger, 1887) (Characiformes, Characidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Taxonomia das populações de Hyphessobrycon boulengeri (Eigenmann, 1907) e Hyphessobrycon reticulatus Ellis, 1911 (Characiformes: Characidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise filogenética e revisão taxonômica de Pseudotothyris Britski & Garavello, 1984 (Loricariidae: Hypoptopomatinae)

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

Systematics of Pseudotothyris (Loricariidae: Hypoptopomatinae)

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

Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeographic History of the Armored Neotropical Catfish Subfamilies Hypoptopomatinae, Neoplecostominae and Otothyrinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)

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

Inventário da ictiofauna do alto rio Paraíba do Sul e caracterização molecular das espécies encontradas

The state of São Paulo has four main drainages: Paraná river, Paraíba do Sul river, Ribeira do Iguape river and coastal rivers. The Paraíba do Sul river is born in Sao Paulo and drains an important range of land east of the state. Its ichthyofauna has some similarities and many differences from the continental and coastal drainages which highlights the importance of this study. Surveys conducted in the ichthyofauna of this basin, as in other large river basins in Brazil, is still incomplete. Moreover, there is no consensus about the taxonomic status of many species listed in these surveys. Considering the promising use of DNA barcode as a global system for species identification, the present study is aimed to establishing an inventory of the ichthyofauna of the São Paulo portion of the river Paraíba do Sul and simultaneously build a DNA barcode reference sequence library for fish found. Were obtained and analyzed 354 sequences of the gene cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) belonging to 66 species of São Paulo portion of the Paraíba do Sul river. The average K2P distance between individuals within species of this basin was 0.48%, and 9,87% between species within a genus. Five pairs of species (10 species) showed low levels of interspecific genetic divergence (<2%),but all could be correctly identified. This study showed that the fish species analyzed could be identified efficiently through the use of barcode generating data that can provide information for further studies of this fauna, besides contributing to the global initiative to characterize the species of fish in the world of a molecular point of view. Five pairs of species (10 species) showed low levels of interspecific genetic divergence (<2%), but all could be correctly identified. This study showed that the fish species analyzed could be identified efficiently through the use of barcode generating data that can provide subsidies for further studies in this fauna, as well as ...

Relações filogenéticas e revisão taxonômica das espécies do gênero Copella Myers, 1956 (Characiformes: Lebiasinidae)

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

National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) research highlights in the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It is a unique and valuable national treasure because of its ecological, recreational, economic and cultural benefits. The problems facing the Bay are well known and extensively documented, and are largely related to human uses of the watershed and resources within the Bay. Over the past several decades as the origins of the Chesapeake’s problems became clear, citizens groups and Federal, State, and local governments have entered into agreements and worked together to restore the Bay’s productivity and ecological health. In May 2010, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order number 13508 that tasked a team of Federal agencies to develop a way forward in the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake watershed. Success of both State and Federal efforts will depend on having relevant, sound information regarding the ecology and function of the system as the basis of management and decision making. In response to the executive order, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) has compiled an overview of its research in Chesapeake Bay watershed. NCCOS has a long history of Chesapeake Bay research, investigating the causes and consequences of changes throughout the watershed’s ecosystems. This document presents a cross section of research results that have advanced the understanding of the structure and function of the Chesapeake and enabled the accurate and timely prediction of events with the potential to impact both human communities and ecosystems. There are three main focus areas: changes in land use patterns in the watershed and the related impacts on contaminant and pathogen distribution and concentrations; nutrient inputs and algal bloom events; and habitat use and life history patterns of species in the watershed. Land use changes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have dramatically changed how the system functions. A comparison of several subsystems within the Bay drainages has shown that water quality is directly related to land use and how the land use affects ecosystem health of the rivers and streams that enter the Chesapeake Bay. Across the Chesapeake as a whole, the rivers that drain developed areas, such as the Potomac and James rivers, tend to have much more highly contaminated sediments than does the mainstem of the Bay itself. In addition to what might be considered traditional contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, new contaminants are appearing in measurable amounts. At fourteen sites studied in the Bay, thirteen different pharmaceuticals were detected. The impact of pharmaceuticals on organisms and the people who eat them is still unknown. The effects of water borne infections on people and marine life are known, however, and the exposure to certain bacteria is a significant health risk. A model is now available that predicts the likelihood of occurrence of a strain of bacteria known as Vibrio vulnificus throughout Bay waters.

Mineralogical compositions of sediment samples from the San Francisco Bay coastal system

The mineralogical compositions of 119 samples collected from throughout the San Francisco Bay coastal system, including bayfloor and seafloor, area beaches, cliff outcrops, and major drainages, were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Comparison of the mineral concentrations and application of statistical cluster analysis of XRD spectra allowed for the determination of provenances and transport pathways. The use of XRD mineral identifications provides semi-quantitative compositions needed for comparisons of beach and offshore sands with potential cliff and river sources, but the innovative cluster analysis of XRD diffraction spectra provides a unique visualization of how groups of samples within the San Francisco Bay coastal system are related so that sand-sized sediment transport pathways can be inferred. The main vector for sediment transport as defined by the XRD analysis is from San Francisco Bay to the outer coast, where the sand then accumulates on the ebb tidal delta and also moves alongshore. This mineralogical link defines a critical pathway because large volumes of sediment have been removed from the Bay over the last century via channel dredging, aggregate mining, and borrow pit mining, with comparable volumes of erosion from the ebb tidal delta over the same period, in addition to high rates of shoreline retreat along the adjacent, open-coast beaches. Therefore, while previously only a temporal relationship was established, the transport pathway defined by mineralogical and geochemical tracers support the link between anthropogenic activities in the Bay and widespread erosion outside the Bay. The XRD results also establish the regional and local importance of sediment derived from cliff erosion, as well as both proximal and distal fluvial sources. This research is an important contribution to a broader provenance study aimed at identifying the driving forces for widespread geomorphic change in a heavily urbanized coastal-estuarine system.

San Francisco Coastal System grain size and geochemical data for sand provenance study

Over 150 million cubic meter of sand-sized sediment has disappeared from the central region of the San Francisco Bay Coastal System during the last half century. This enormous loss may reflect numerous anthropogenic influences, such as watershed damming, bay-fill development, aggregate mining, and dredging. The reduction in Bay sediment also appears to be linked to a reduction in sediment supply and recent widespread erosion of adjacent beaches, wetlands, and submarine environments. A unique, multi-faceted provenance study was performed to definitively establish the primary sources, sinks, and transport pathways of beach sized-sand in the region, thereby identifying the activities and processes that directly limit supply to the outer coast. This integrative program is based on comprehensive surficial sediment sampling of the San Francisco Bay Coastal System, including the seabed, Bay floor, area beaches, adjacent rock units, and major drainages. Analyses of sample morphometrics and biological composition (e.g., Foraminifera) were then integrated with a suite of tracers including 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd isotopes, rare earth elements, semi-quantitative X-ray diffraction mineralogy, and heavy minerals, and with process-based numerical modeling, in situ current measurements, and bedform asymmetry to robustly determine the provenance of beach-sized sand in the region.