NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES: A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data. The number of species for the most numerous orders are as follows: Characiformes (1289), Siluriformes (1384), Cichliformes (354), Cyprinodontiformes (245), and Gymnotiformes (135). The most recorded species was the characid Astyanax fasciatus (4696 records). We registered 116,802 distribution records for native species, compared to 1802 distribution records for nonnative species. The main aim of the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set was to make these occurrence and abundance data accessible for international researchers to develop ecological and macroecological studies, from local to regional scales, with focal fish species, families, or orders. We anticipate that the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set will be valuable for studies on a wide range of ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, fishery pressure, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the impacts of species invasion and climate change. There are no copyright restrictions on the data, and please cite this data paper when using the data in publications.

Conservation of the Black-collared Swallow, Pygochelidon melanoleuca (Wied, 1820) (Aves: Hirundinidae) in Brazil: potential negative impacts of hydropower plants

Abstract: We analyzed the overlap of the range of Pygochelidon melanoleuca in Brazil with active and planned hydropower plants in the country (current and future scenarios). We used the Random Forest, Maxent and Support Vector Machine algorithms to model the potential range of the species, which we then overlapped with the locations of active and planned hydropower plants in order to calculate how much the potential area of this species is and will be affected by them. Approximately 35% of active hydropower plants currently overlap with the potential distribution area of P. melanoleuca, and 44% of planned hydropower plants also coincide with this area. If the implementation of the planned hydropower plants occurs, the suitable habitat necessary for nesting and foraging of P. melanoleuca will be severely compromised.

First record of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Maranhão state, northern Brazil

The Wild Boar is one of the world’s most dangerous invasive species. It is now established in many regions beyond its native range, including many Brazilian states. However, the species has never been recorded from the Brazilian state of Maranhão. Here, we report the first occurrence of this species from Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, within the municipality of Barrerinhas, Maranhão state. We discuss the negative effects of this introduction on native species, including the problem with predation of nests of an endangered turtle species by Wild Boar.

The pig of the Lençóis Maranhenses, first record of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Maranhão State, Brazil

The wild boar is one of the most dangerous invasive species. It is widespread in the world, including records for many Brazilian states. However, there is a lack of record from Maranhão state. In the present study, we reported a population of wild boar inside the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, in Barrerinhas county, State of Maranhão. We discuss about the negative effects of this introduction on native species, including a record of predation by wild boar in nests of endangered turtles.