Morphometric relations of freshwater fishes of the Suaza River (Huila Department, Colombia)

The knowledge of freshwater fishes in remote Andean mountains is scarce and restricted to changes of occurrence distribution along a specific gradient. The high number of endemic fish species requires further studies regarding their biology and their conservation status. The present study aims to estimate the length-weight, length- length, and length-girth relations for nine native freshwater fish species representing five families (Loricariidae, Characidae, Heptapteridae, Crenuchidae, and Parodontidae): Chaetostoma thomsoni Regan, 1904; Lasiancistrus caucanus Eigenmann, 1912; Rineloricaria jubata (Boulenger, 1902); Bryconamericus huilae Román- Valencia, 2003; Gephyrocharax melanocheir Eigenmann, 1912; Pimelodella chagresi (Steindachner, 1876); Rhamdia guatemalensis (Quoy et Gaimard, 1824); Characidium fasciatum Reinhardt, 1867; Parodon suborbitalis Valenciennes, 1850. The fishes were collected in the Suaza River (Huila, Colombia). These are the first length-weight relations reported for all these species, mostly endemic to the Colombian Andes. The report also provides the new maximum size for four species

Diagnosing stream ecosystem integrity in the Ordesa-Viñamala Biosphere Reserve, central Spanish Pyrenees

This work studied the ecological integrity of river ecosystems inside the Ordesa-Viñamala Biosphere Reserve, in the central Spanish Pyrenees. Despite its protected status, the Ordesa-Viñamala Biosphere Reserve endures a considerable number of human stresses, so we aimed to evaluate the conservation status of the two river basins inside the protected area: The Gállego River Basin, located inside the transition zone of the protected area, allowing a wide range of human activities; and the Ara River Basin, inside the buffer zone, where only sound ecological practices are authorised. The environmental status of river ecosystems was analysed by studying fish and macroinvertebrate communities, hydrochemical and habitat characteristics and by calculating environmental quality indices. From August to September 2011 a total of 14 sites were sampled. Fish sampling was conducted using an electrofishing gear and macroinvertebrate was sampling by applying the IBMWP and IASPT procedures. Our results showed that, while the Ara River Basin keeps a good ecological integrity, the Gállego River Basin endures important habitat alteration. Trout, the dominant and exclusive species in the Ara River, were absent and replaced by translocated native cyprinids in the Gállego River Basin. This colonisation was explained by the alteration of the stream ecosystems and their homogenisation. The study of macroinvertebrate communities and the diagnosis obtained with the environmental quality indices also enhanced the deficient ecological integrity of some sites in the Gállego River. Our results suggest that the figure of the Biosphere Reserve is not providing an adequate protection to streams inside its boundaries leading to a major degradation of their biological integrity

Fish Ecology of the Alto Madre de Dios River Basin (Peru): Notes on Electrofishing Surveys, Elevation, Palm Swamp and Headwater Fishes

Our study analyzes the distribution of fish communities related to the environmental variables of the Alto Madre de Dios River, an Andean-Amazon watershed of southern Peru, between 300 and 2811 m a.s.l. within the Manu Biosphere Reserve. We provide new ecological and diversity data on fishes for these poorly studied rivers and new data for palm swamp habitats. With electric fishing techniques, we collected a total of 1934 fish specimens belonging to 78 species, 42 genera and 15 families. To assess main patterns of diversity we combined SIMPER and ANOSIM with canonical correspondence analysis to obtain an overview of the community structure of fish and their distribution related to aquatic habitats. Our results show an important shift on fish diversity at 700 m a.s.l. separating headwater and middle-lowland communities. Electrofishing was a hindrance due to the depth, flow and low conductivity of the rivers, but also allowed us to capture fish not observed with other techniques. We also compared the use of elevation with slope as an alternative variable for statistical analysis. Our results show that slope offers a solid and equivalent explanation for fish distribution variability, avoids redundance, and instead of giving geographical data offers ecologically solid information

Peces de la cuenca del río Mira : Pacífico colombo-ecuatoriano

ilustraciones, fotografías, mapasCon esta obra, docentes, investigadores, estudiantes y público en general podrán conocer e incrementar el conocimiento sobre peces dulciacuícolas con información relevante sobre distribución, biología y taxonomía de las especies de la zona. Aquí se documenta la ri-queza de especies con características biológicas relevantes, claves y otros elementos que permiten su comprensión biológica; amén de recomendaciones sobre el manejo de este recurso biótico que deben ser aprovechadas por las autoridades ambientales de ambos países para la toma de decisiones que afectan directamente la conservación de los peces y los ecosistemas acuáticos continentales de la cuenca del río Mira, poco conocida en Colombia y Ecuador. Es un gran honor presentar esta contribución, edición bellamente ilustrada y de gran utilidad para todos los interesados en este grupo. Su elaboración demandó un enorme esfuerzo técnico-científico por parte de los autores de los diversos capítulos tratados, quienes sintetizan en cada uno de estos el conocimiento de los de peces de agua dulce. Dejo entonces en sus manos este gran esfuerzo de investigación, digno de estudiar, dis- frutar y apreciar. (texto tomado de la fuente)PRESENTACIÓN -- INTRODUCCIÓN -- LA CUENCA BINACIONAL DEL RÍO MIRA -- Generalidades de la cuenca -- Las expediciones -- CLAVE ARTIFICIAL PARA ESPECIES -- LOS PECES -- LAS ESPECIES -- Orden Characiformes Familia Erythrinidae -- Hoplias malabaricus -- Familia Curimatidae -- Pseudocurimata lineopunctata -- Pseudocurimata patiae -- Familia Lebiasinidae -- Lebiasina narinensis -- Familia Ctenoluciidae --Ctenolucius beani -- Familia Characidae -- Eretmobrycon dahli -- Eretmobrycon miraensis -- Hyphessobrycon aff. chocoensis -- Pseudochalceus longianalis -- Roeboides occidentalis -- Familia Bryconidae -- Brycon argenteus -- Brycon sp -- Brycon oligolepis -- Brycon posadae -- Orden Gymnotiformes -- Familia Hypopomidae -- Brachyhypopomus occidentalis -- Familia Sternopygidae -- Sternopygus sp. -- Orden Siluriformes -- Familia Trichomycteridae -- Trichomycterus latidens -- Trichomycterus taenia -- Familia Astroblepidae -- Astroblepus chotae -- Astroblepus cirratus Astroblepus cyclopus -- Astroblepus grixalvii -- Astroblepus aff. longifilis -- Astroblepus mojicai -- Familia Loricariidae -- Chaetostoma marginatum -- Rineloricaria jubata -- Familia Heptapteridae -- Pimelodella eutaenia -- Pimelodella grisea -- Rhamdia guatemalensis -- Familia Pseudopimelodidae -- Cruciglanis sp. -- Orden Salmoniformes -- Familia Salmonidae -- Oncorhynchus mykiss -- Orden Syngnathiformes 108 Familia Syngnathidae 108 Pseudophallus starksii -- Orden Gobiiformes -- Familia Eleotridae -- Eleotris picta -- Gobiomorus maculatus -- Hemieleotris latifasciata -- Familia Oxudercidae -- Awaous transandeanus -- Sicydium rosenbergii -- Orden Pleuronectiformes -- Familia Achiridae -- Achirus mazatlanus -- Orden Cichliformes -- Familia Cichlidae -- Andinoacara biseriatus -- Mesoheros ornatus Oreochromis niloticus -- Orden Beloniformes -- Familia Belonidae -- Strongylura fluviatilis -- Orden Cyprinodontiformes -- Familia Poeciliidae -- Pseudopoecilia fria -- Poecilia caucana -- Orden Mugiliformes -- Familia Mugilidae -- Dajaus monticola -- AMENAZAS DE LA CUENCA -- AGRADECIMIENTOS -- REFERENCIAS -- GLOSARIO -- TABLAS -- ANEXO -- LISTA DE FIGURASPrimera edició

Editorial: BioCamb: 10 años contribuyendo al conocimiento de la biodiversidad en el Ecuador

Este editorial resume los 10 años de historia y los principales logros del Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (BioCamb), de la Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica. El BioCamb fue creado el 15 de julio del 2011, en respuesta a la necesidad de conocer la diversidad biológica del Ecuador, incluyendo su interrelación con el ser humano. Estos años ha publicado más de 140 artículos en revistas indexadas en Scopus con investigadores de 48 países, de 412 instituciones. Estas investigaciones se han centrado en Ecuador y en los Andes y han descrito 53 nuevas especies. El BioCamb, con la Facultad de Ciencias del Medio Ambiente, puso en marcha la Ingeniería en Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, y las maestrías en Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático y en Gestión Ambiental. Además, ha impulsado la ciencia ciudadana, organizando, varios BioBlitz y el Desafío Naturaleza Urbana, y trabajos comunitarios integrados en proyectos de investigación o a través de la vinculación con la sociedad. El BioCamb ha conseguido integrar las tres funciones sustantivas de la educación superior, docencia, investigación y vinculación con la sociedad, aportando con conocimiento y profesionales que trabajen por el desarrollo sostenible de Ecuador y la conservación de su biodiversidad

Upcycling the Banana Industry in Ecuador: A Methodology to Estimate Organic Waste Availability and a Catalogue of Potential Biodegradable Products

Ecuador is the leading exporter of bananas globally. This industry generates a large amount of organic waste since the plant is cut down for every crop, but only the fruit bunch is used. These residues can be converted into sustainable environmental products that could replace polluting materials. This investigation presents a GIS-based methodology used to estimate the biomass of the residues of banana agriculture in Ecuador and to determine how much organic waste could be used as raw materials to manufacture new biodegradable products. We estimated that more than forty million metric tons of waste are produced every nine months. Our methodology can be a low-cost quantitative complement to the survey-based estimations conducted by the Ecuadorian government to evaluate banana production. Additionally, our work presents five products that could be manufactured with organic waste, like disposable plates, bioplastics for food utensils, cardboard covers, fibers for hydraulic cement, and wallpaper. Finally, we offer a product catalog developed as a technical guide for future bio-enterprises to elaborate biodegradable products inspired by a circular economy scheme. In light of the estimated amount of banana waste generated in the country, we consider that Ecuador has the potential to develop an industry based on this raw material to generate products such as those proposed in our review, shifting the banana industry to a more sustainable, profitable process, and generating new incomes and sources of employment

Gradientes ecológicos y distribución de comunidades de peces en ríos de montaña: de la ecología a la conservación; de los Pirineos a los Andes

River ecosystems integrate all the changes that occur throughout the territory of their basin and for this is why they are among the most threatened and altered ecosystems in the world. This loss of habitat has direct consequences on the organisms inhabiting them. Freshwater fish are the most threatened group of vertebrates on the planet. Therefore, we must prioritize their protection implementing effective management strategies capable to ensure the conservation of riverine habitats and species. Nevertheless, there is a big gap of knowledge involving these ecosystems and biota, hindering their management. This lack of knowledge is especially significant in the Neotropics, where the greatest diversity of freshwater fish of the planet water is found. Unfortunately, these highly biodiverse areas are exposed to great threats that are destroying their habitats. These facts point out the Tropical Andes as a particularly biodiverse but seriously threatened region whose conservation should be prioritized. However, management plans must be based on appropriate ecological studies, providing reliable biological information and guaranteeing the development of appropriate conservation strategies. In the light of this critical knowledge gap, this thesis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a sampling methodology that aspires to be versatile, inclusive and simple, testing it in different biogeographic contexts. Thus, five river basins (two in the Pyrenees and three in the Tropical Andes) were analyzed conducting electrofishing surveys, collecting aquatic macroinvertebrates, characterizing river habitat and applying environmental quality indices. One of our main goals was to study the freshwater ecological processes and its influence on the distribution of fish communities. Additionally, we evaluated the integrity of river ecosystems, trying to understand the consequences of human impacts on the biota. One of the most common strategies for the protection of ecosystems and species is the creation of protected areas. The Biosphere Reserves aspire to protect biodiversity and promote the sustainable development of the communities inhabiting them. Nevertheless, the scarcity of available biological information and the lack of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of these protected areas may be hindering the successful management and conservation of rivers and fish inside them. Our results point out that, although some Biosphere Reserves are partially fulfilling their protective function, their management strategies should be revised and their action plans adapted to the new available scientific information. Our sampling campaigns provided us with a better understanding of the ecology of poorly known rivers and fish, and the methods proved to reliability to diagnose ecological integrity. Nevertheless, due to time and budged limitations, we could only visit once each of the basins, hindering our interpretation of their complex reality. However, the obtained data allows us to emphasize the urge of prioritizing the protection of the headwaters of the Tropical Andes. They still remain very well preserved, they provide invaluable and irreplaceable ecosystem services and host a large number of fish species endemic to each of the basins. In addition, given the increasing anthropogenic impacts threatening these ecosystems, it is mandatory to delve into ecological studies to understand the natural reference conditions of these rivers, necessary to the appropriate development of management policies and restoration. This urge for knowledge highlights the necessity to continue with exploratory sampling campaigns, aspiring to cover the large knowledge gaps we are facing, and to guarantee the effectivity of the conservation biology. Biodiversity and ecology knowledge are the foundations for protecting nature

Gradientes ecológicos y distribución de comunidades de peces en ríos de montaña: de la ecología a la conservación; de los Pirineos a los Andes

River ecosystems integrate all the changes that occur throughout the territory of their basin and for this is why they are among the most threatened and altered ecosystems in the world. This loss of habitat has direct consequences on the organisms inhabiting them. Freshwater fish are the most threatened group of vertebrates on the planet. Therefore, we must prioritize their protection implementing effective management strategies capable to ensure the conservation of riverine habitats and species. Nevertheless, there is a big gap of knowledge involving these ecosystems and biota, hindering their management. This lack of knowledge is especially significant in the Neotropics, where the greatest diversity of freshwater fish of the planet water is found. Unfortunately, these highly biodiverse areas are exposed to great threats that are destroying their habitats. These facts point out the Tropical Andes as a particularly biodiverse but seriously threatened region whose conservation should be prioritized. However, management plans must be based on appropriate ecological studies, providing reliable biological information and guaranteeing the development of appropriate conservation strategies. In the light of this critical knowledge gap, this thesis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a sampling methodology that aspires to be versatile, inclusive and simple, testing it in different biogeographic contexts. Thus, five river basins (two in the Pyrenees and three in the Tropical Andes) were analyzed conducting electrofishing surveys, collecting aquatic macroinvertebrates, characterizing river habitat and applying environmental quality indices. One of our main goals was to study the freshwater ecological processes and its influence on the distribution of fish communities. Additionally, we evaluated the integrity of river ecosystems, trying to understand the consequences of human impacts on the biota. One of the most common strategies for the protection of ecosystems and species is the creation of protected areas. The Biosphere Reserves aspire to protect biodiversity and promote the sustainable development of the communities inhabiting them. Nevertheless, the scarcity of available biological information and the lack of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of these protected areas may be hindering the successful management and conservation of rivers and fish inside them. Our results point out that, although some Biosphere Reserves are partially fulfilling their protective function, their management strategies should be revised and their action plans adapted to the new available scientific information. Our sampling campaigns provided us with a better understanding of the ecology of poorly known rivers and fish, and the methods proved to reliability to diagnose ecological integrity. Nevertheless, due to time and budged limitations, we could only visit once each of the basins, hindering our interpretation of their complex reality. However, the obtained data allows us to emphasize the urge of prioritizing the protection of the headwaters of the Tropical Andes. They still remain very well preserved, they provide invaluable and irreplaceable ecosystem services and host a large number of fish species endemic to each of the basins. In addition, given the increasing anthropogenic impacts threatening these ecosystems, it is mandatory to delve into ecological studies to understand the natural reference conditions of these rivers, necessary to the appropriate development of management policies and restoration. This urge for knowledge highlights the necessity to continue with exploratory sampling campaigns, aspiring to cover the large knowledge gaps we are facing, and to guarantee the effectivity of the conservation biology. Biodiversity and ecology knowledge are the foundations for protecting nature