Javari River basin in the context of "Amazon fish and climate changes - AMAZONFISH"

Abstract

This proposal is part of a transnational collaborative project that is building a high-quality database on the diversity of freshwater fish fauna throughout the Amazon basin. The database uses information on the distribution of fish species to identify sampling gaps that are being filled by partners of the AMAZONFISH project within their respective countries. These actions will generate the most current and comprehensive database available for the distribution of freshwater fish species at the basin scale. A preliminary database is ready, and the largest sampling gap identified in the Brazilian Amazon is Javari River basin, which we intend to fill with the present proposal. The primary database generated from compiled data was coupled with a Geographic Information System (GIS), which allowed identifying the main environmental factors explaining the distribution and endemism patterns of the Amazon ichthyofauna. Preliminary analyzes are underway and the results will be discussed at the next meeting of AMAZONFISH Project in November 2016 in Bogota (Colombia). Besides unveiling the natural patterns of species richness, endemism and species distributions, the effects of hydrologic disconnection and basin fragmentation resulting from the construction of hydroelectric dams in the basin will also be assessed at different spatial scales. The aim of this transnational effort is to assess the representativeness and irreplaceability of the hotspots of ichthyofaunal diversity in the Amazon, facing the direct (e.g. land use, hydroelectric dams) and indirect (e. g. climate change) anthropogenic impacts foreseen for the region. Projections of future climate change are being analyzed for the four main scenarios for the years 2050 and 2080, derived from General Circulation Models (GCMs) more widely used. It is expected that the results of the present proposal will help defining relevant research and conservation areas for the "Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services" at local, national and basin-wide (biome) scales. (AU)