Fish diversity and biotic integrity in a small stream of a temperate plain
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Fish diversity and biotic integrity in a small stream of a temperate plain Melina Crettaz‑Minaglia1 · Ricardo Ariel Juarez1 Received: 7 April 2020 / Accepted: 4 August 2020 © Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei 2020
Abstract With more than 7000 inner rivers, streams, small permanent or temporal watercourses, and wetlands, Entre Ríos province has the richest fish diversity in Argentina due to habitats diversity generated by the climatic, biogeographic, and topologic characteristics. However, this region is one of the most impacted areas by intense livestock and farming activities. For this reason, it is necessary and urgent to assess the fish richness and biotic integrity to strategically conserve resources. The aims of this study were to study the fish assemblages of a temperate third order stream namely Santa Barbara, and to determine the environmental quality through modified Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI). The study area is located in the lower-middle basin of the stream in the south-east of Entre Ríos (Gualeguaychú department). Fish samples were collected and identified in 3 sampling stations during 2012 (n = 5), and 11 metrics were calculated. One hundred and sixty-seven native organisms were collected, and 17 species, 3 genera, and 1 family were identified. Presence of Serrapinus microdon was reported, representing the most austral record in Argentina and the first record in Entre Ríos province. Modified IBI was applied to fish data and showed that the study area exhibited between poor and good biotic integrity. This work contributed to the knowledge of ichthyofauna from inner sub-basin of the Uruguay river and it was the first application of IBI in the Mesopotamic Pampa with an adaptation proposal. Keywords Entre ríos · Gualeguaychú · Modified IBI · Serrapinus microdon
1 Introduction The temperate climate is found in the middle latitudes between the tropics (23.5) and the polar regions of Earth (66.5) (Beck et al. 2018). It is influenced by the tropics and it usually has warmer temperatures throughout the year, longer summers, and mild and short winters. This region hosts the largest number of people, the greatest biodiversity, and a large-scale agricultural production, mainly in the northern hemisphere, which has the largest proportion of continental land. Consequently, the southern hemisphere has been less studied mainly in those aspects. The Brasilic region has the highest fish-specific diversity in the world, with 2500–3000 known species (Malabarba et al. 1998). In this region, Entre Ríos geographic province * Melina Crettaz‑Minaglia [email protected] 1
Laboratorio de Indicadores Biológicos y Gestión Ambiental de Calidad de Agua. Facultad de Ciencia Y Tecnología, UADER, Buenos Aires, Argentina
is located in the particular Parano-Platense biogeographic province and this includes the greatest fish diversity in Argentina (López 2001 in Demonte and Arias 2005). This is due to the environmental diversity that it contains. This province has two inner rivers namely Gualeguaychú and Gualeguay, an
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