Search

The Vaupés River stands out as one of the few within the Amazon basin due to its numerous rapids. These riverine fast-flowing sections not only provide habitat to highly specialized fishes but also function as natural barriers hindering the movement of fish along its course. During a fish-collecting expedition in the lower Vaupés River basin in Colombia, 95 species were registered belonging to 30 families and seven orders. Despite recent inventories in the region, our comprehensive sampling efforts particularly focused on the rapids and associated rheophilic fauna, allowing us to contribute the first records of four fish species in Colombia (Myloplus lucienae Andrade, Ota, Bastos & Jégu, 2016, Tometes makue Jégu, Santos & Jégu, 2002, also first record of the genus, Leptodoras praelongus (Myers & Weitzman, 1956), and Eigenmannia matintapereira Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki, 2015) and six presumably undescribed species (i.e., Jupiaba sp., Moenkhausia sp., Phenacogaster sp., Bunocephalus sp., Hemiancistrus sp., and Archolaemus sp.). In this study, a commented list of the ichthyofauna of these environments is presented, as well as a photographic catalog of fish species integrated into the CaVFish Project – Colombia.

Se presenta el estado actual del conocimiento de la diversidad de peces y su distribución por municipios y sistemas acuáticos en el departamento de Santander. Un total de 115 especies nativas distribuidas en ocho órdenes y 34 familias habitan en Santander. El orden taxonómico más diverso fue Siluriformes con 55 especies y 27 géneros, seguido por Characiformes con 40 especies y 28 géneros. Las familias con mayor número de especies fueron Characidae (22 especies), Loricariidae (14 especies). Los sistemas de los ríos Sogamoso y Lebrija presentaron la mayor diversidad (84 y 74 especies, respectivamente). Un total de 13 especies endémicas o restringidas al departamento de Santander fueron identificadas en este trabajo.

ABSTRACT Catfishes of the family Astroblepidae form a group composed by 82 valid species of the genus Astroblepus inhabiting high-gradient streams and rivers throughout tropical portions of the Andean Cordillera. Little has been advanced in the systematics and biodiversity of astroblepids other than an unpublished thesis, a single regional multilocus study and isolated species descriptions. Here, we examined 208 specimens of Astroblepus that apparently belong to 16 valid species from several piedmont rivers from northern Colombia to southern Peru. Using three single-locus approaches for species delimitation in combination with a species tree analysis estimated from three mitochondrial genes, we identified a total of 25 well-delimited lineages including eight valid and 17 potential undescribed species distributed in two monophyletic groups: the Central Andes Clade, which contains 14 lineages from piedmont rivers of the Peruvian Amazon, and the Northern Andes Clade with 11 lineages from trans- and cis-Andean rivers of Colombia and Ecuador, including the Orinoco, Amazon, and Magdalena-Cauca basins and Pacific coastal drainages. Results of species delimitation methods highlight several taxonomical incongruences in recently described species denoting potential synonymies.

ABSTRACT Eigenmannia is one of the more taxonomically complex genera within the Gymnotiformes. Here we adopt an integrative taxonomic approach, combining osteology, COI gene sequences, and geometric morphometrics to describe three new species belonging to the E. trilineata species group from Colombian trans-Andean region. These new species increase the number of species in the E. trilineata complex to 18 and the number of species in the genus to 25. The distribution range of the E. trilineata species group is expanded to include parts of northwestern South America and southern Central America.

This study estimates whether the monetary policy rules of Bank of Russia have changed recently. Russia has moved towards inflation targeting over the past years, which is reflected in our empirical estimations. We start by estimating various monetary policy rules for Russia, concluding that a variant of the Taylor rule depicts Bank of Russia’s monetary policy over the past decade well. Moreover, there have been two clear breaks in the coefficients of the estimated monetary policy rule, possibly signifying a shift towards traditional inflation targeting and also the current recent economic turbulence.

The present work is part of a process to create a Catalogue of the Freshwater Fishes of Colombia and consisted in the depuration and updating of the taxonomic and geographic components of the checklist of the freshwater fishes of Colombia. An exhaustive revision of the 1435 species recorded in 2008 was necessary to: 1. Add new species described since 2009 and species originally described from Colombia but inadvertently omitted in 2008; 2. Add new records of already described species; 3. Delete species whose presence in Colombia was not supported by voucher specimens in ichthyological collections; and 4. Revise the geographic distribution of the species listed in 2008. This process resulted in the following numbers: 1. Total number of freshwater fish species in Colombia: 1494; 2. Number of species recorded by hydrographic region - Amazon: 706, Orinoco: 663, Caribbean: 223, Magdalena-Cauca: 220, Pacific: 130; and 3. Number of endemic species: 374 (76% from the trans-Andean region). Updating the current checklist is a fundamental requirement to ensure its incorporation in the decision-making process with regard to the conservation of Colombian aquatic species and ecosystems, which are facing transformation processes as a result of activities such as mining, construction of hydroelectric plants, expansion of the agricultural frontier and subsequent deforestation, industrial and domestic pollution, development of waterways, introduction of exotic species, and climate change.

We report four mitochondrial genomes of South American electric knifefishes, derived from target capture and Illumina sequencing (HiSeq 2500 PE100). Two trans-Andean species Eigenmannia humboldtii (mitochondrial consensus genome of 25 individuals) and Sternopygus aequilabiatus (mitochondrial consensus genome of 30 individuals) from Colombia and two cis-Andean species Eigenmannia limbata from Suriname and Sternopygus macrurus from Argentina. Regarding Eigenmannia humboldtii, Eigenmannia limbata, and Sternopygus macrurus mitochondrial genomes have 13 protein-coding genes, 1 D-loop, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and are 13,394 bp, 10,921 bp, and 13,013 bp in length respectively, for Sternopygus aequilabiatus mitochondrial genomes have 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and is 14,270 bp in length.

We report two mitochondrial genomes of headstanders, derived from target capture and Illumina sequencing (HiSeq 2500 PE100). One trans-Andean species Megaleporinus muyscorum (mitochondrial consensus genome of 25 individuals) from Colombia and one cis-Andean species M. obtusidens from Argentina. Regarding M. muyscorum, mitochondrial genome has 13 protein-coding genes, 1 D-loop, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 21 transfer RNAs, and is 14,434 bp in length, for M. obtusidens mitochondrial genome has 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and is 15,546 bp in length.

Accurate species delimitation is crucial for studies of phylogeny, phylogeography, ecology, conservation and biogeography. The limits of species and genera in the Characidae family are controversial due to its uncertain phylogenetic relationships, high level of morphological homoplasy and the use of ambiguous morphological characters for descriptions. Here we establish species boundaries for Bryconamericus, Hemibrycon, Knodus and Eretmobrycon (Stevardiinae: Characidae), previously diagnosed with morphology, using three different barcoding approaches (GMYC, PTP, ABGD). Results revealed that species delimitation was successful by the use of a single-gene approach and by following a workflow in the context of integrative taxonomy, making evident problems and mistakes in the cataloging of Characidae species. Hence, it was possible to infer boundaries at genus level for clusters in the trees (GMYC and PTP) and automatic partitions (ABGD) which were consistent with some of recent taxonomic changes proposed in Characidae. We found that discordance cases between methods were linked to limitations of the methods and associated to putative species cluster closely related, some historically problematic in their diagnosis and identification. Furthermore, we suggested taxonomic changes and possibly new species, revealing a high degree of hidden diversity. Finally, we propose a workflow as a fast, accurate and objective way to delimit species from mitochondrial DNA sequences and to help clarify the classification of this group.

The present study describes ecological aspects of Lebiasina erythrinoides; 200 individuals were sampled throughout an annual hydrological cycle from October 2008 to September 2009 in La Calaboza stream, a Piedmont tributary of the Rio Cravo Sur. The studied population had more females than males (1.5:1) and preferred habitats dominated by shoreline vegetation and rocky substrates. Prior to reproductive events, individuals presented an increase in the condition factor (K) and the gonosomatic index (GSI). On average, 648.8 oocytes are discharged twice a year: at the beginning of the rainy season, and during falling water phase. The mean sizes at sexual maturity found for females were 73.5 mm standard length (SL) and for males 70 mm SL. Rounding up, an average minimum size of capture of 75 mm SL is proposed. Most specimens of the population (65 %) were found to be maturing or mature (stages II and III), 28.5 % immature (stage I), 5.0 % in post reproduction stage V, and 1.5 % in reproductive phase (IV). Results suggest this species is omnivorous with a preference for invertebrates (IRI = 41.2 %) and vegetal material (IRI = 27.8 %), but also includes a variety of other items. The values of the diet are correlated with hydrological cycle and size.

Se comparó la abundancia relativa de Grundulus bogotensis entre dos cuencas y la dieta entre poblaciones de tres cuencas del altiplano Cundiboyacense. Entre marzo y junio de 2006 se realizaron muestreos en 10 localidades utilizando un equipo de electropesca. Laabundancia relativa de cada localidad se expresó como el número deindividuos capturado por hora en un tramo de 100m. Se utilizó untest de Kruskal-Wallis para determinar diferencias significativas en la abundancia relativa entre cuencas. Para cuantificar la dieta se utilizó el método volumétrico y para determinar el grado de similaridad entre cuencas se recurrió a tres análisis multivariados: análisis de escalonamiento multidimensional no métrico (NMDS), análisis de similaridad (ANOSIM) y análisis de porcentaje de similaridad (SIMPER). Se capturaron en total 675 individuos, empleando 600 minutos de esfuerzo de captura. La abundancia de la especie en la cuenca del río Bogotá fue significativamente menor respecto a la del río Suárez. La composición de la dieta y volumen de ítems entre cuencas fue similar. El material consumido fue de origen autóctono y los ítems más importantes fueron los insectos inmaduros y los microcrustáceos. La abundancia relativa de las poblaciones de G.bogotensis en la cuenca del río Bogotá fue menor que en la cuenca delrío Suárez. La cuenca del río Suárez probablemente soporta la mayorabundancia de la especie en todo su rango de distribución y los datossugieren condiciones favorables para la sobrevivencia de la Guapuchaen el lago de Tota. El análisis de la dieta indicó una similaridad mayor al 60% en la utilización del recurso alimentar en las tres cuencas.

Changes in the biota inhabiting the streams downstream of dams have been the subject of numerous studies but few have focused on recovery gradients downstream of the dam or the influence of seasonality on the pulse of the flow in regulated streams. Since 2000 the hydro-power company Isagen SA E.S.P. has been monitoring some emerging characteristics of the fish community in the lower basin of La Miel River (Magdalena River Basin) downstream of the dam to document the response of the fish fauna to new environmental conditions. Based on this monitoring, we tested the hypothesis that there would be a gradient of recovery in the fish assemblage characteristics along the longitudinal axis, downstream from the turbineâs output to its mouth in the Magdalena River. The highest values observed in the dominance index were a result of the arrival of migratory species to the site of the water discharge from the dam during low water period. Finally there is a need to weigh alternative locations of a dam taking into consideration the possibility that downstream tributaries can diminish the impact of the dam and hydropower plant operation.

This paper presents an updated list of the fishes of the Pauto river basin, Casanare. The update process was realized by collections in the field in the middle and lower part of the basin, revision of reference collections and secondary information available. A total of 182 species are recorded. Of these species, 60 are new records for the Pauto river basin. Only one species is included in the Red Book of freshwater fishes of Colombia. At the regional level, 52 species were identified as ornamental, and 24 are used as food; 8 species are exploited for both purposes. Based on the results, it is indispensable to re-evaluate the importance of the Pauto river basin as an area of interest for regional conservation.

Se presenta un listado de especies de peces para el área del piedemonte del departamento del Casanare, región de la Orinoquia en Colombia. El listado es resultado de colectas en campo realizadas entre 2006 y 2009 en 52 puntos de muestreo en los principales ríos de la región, revisión de material depositado en colecciones y revisión de literatura disponible. Se registran 168 especies pertenecientes a seis órdenes, 27 familias y 93 géneros. Del total de especies, nueve son nuevos registros para la cuenca del río Orinoco en Colombia. El río que presenta el mayor número de registros de especies es el Cusiana (115), seguido de los ríos Cravo Sur (96), Pauto (58), Túa (49), Upía (45), Casanare (15) y Guachiría (10).

Data derived from the literature supplemented by examination of specimens in collections show that 1435 species of native fishes live in the freshwaters of Colombia. These species represent 14 orders and 47 families. Orders with the largest numbers of species in the Colombian continental ichthyofauna are the Characiformes (637 species), Siluriformes (524 species), Perciformes (124 species), and Gymnotiformes (74 species), with the remaining 10 orders having from 1 to 35 species. At the family level, the Characidae has the greatest number of species (399 species), with this followed by the Loricariidae (166 species), Cichlidae (114 species), Pimelodidae (54 species), and Trichomycteridae (54 species); the remaining 42 families having 1 to 52 species. Present data indicate that 311 of the species occur solely at locations within Colombia. Continued descriptions of new species from the continental waters of Colombia demonstrate that the present total underestimates the species-level diversity of the ichthyofauna. The 1435 species living in Colombian freshwaters represent approximately 5% of all freshwater and marine fish species now recognized worldwide and approximately 29% of the freshwater fish species known to inhabit the drainages across the expanse from the southern border of Mexico through to Chile and Argentina. Various historical and ecological factors potentially contributing to the species-level richness of the Colombian freshwater fish fauna are discussed (e.g. geology, climate, physiography, water chemistry).

The eastern Antioquia region of Colombia's central mountain range, is characterize by steep altitudinal gradients and rich hydrological resources, with the majority of the drainage flowing into the middle Magdalena River. To compile a taxonomic list of the fish of eastern Antioquia, three sources of information were used: i) the revision of unpublished literature available in regional libraries, ii) revision icthyological collections with vouchers of the region, and iii) specific field work in unstudied aquatic systems. A total of 103 species belonging to eight orders and 25 families were found. The majority of the species found belonged to the families Characidae, Astroblepidae, Loricariidae and Trichomycteridae. Of the species collected, 32 are new records for the region and four are apparently new to science. Eight exotics species are introduced, now established in natural systems. With this study the total for the region increased considerably above the 49 species that had been previously reported in literature, much of which is from the 1980's. It is important to increase collecting efforts in the eastern Antioquia region, due to the underestimation of it's fish biodiversity.

Two new species of Imparfinis are described from the trans-Andean region of Colombia. Imparfinis timana is diagnosed by having longer anal fin base (12.4-15.5% in SL), in combination with long adipose fin (24.6-31.3% in SL), 5-6 gill rakers on the first ceratobranchial, 42-43 vertebrae and additional measurements. Imparfinis usmai is distinguished by the combination of first ray of dorsal fin longest, but not projected as a long filament, long adipose fin (21.1-27.0% in SL), maxillary barbel exceeding pelvic-fin base, 39-40 vertebrae, upper caudal-fin lobe pointed and longer than lower lobe, lower lobe rounded, 7-8 gill rakers on the first ceratobranchial, as well as additional measurements. Imparfinis timana is only known from río Guarapas, a small tributary of the upper course of the río Magdalena. Imparfinis usmai is broadly distributed in the upper basin of ríos Cauca and Magdalena, and in the lower Patía river basin. The restricted distribution of I. nemacheir to trans-Andean drainages (Atrato, Magdalena, and Lago de Maracaibo) is also discussed.

Based on the examination of the two available paratypes and recently collected material, we present new data and information on the electric knifefish Apteronotus magdalenensis, a species endemic to the río Magdalena-Cauca basin in Colombia. Since Miles' description in 1945, this species was not collected until recent field work at the Torrents of Honda and additional localities. We present data on the external morphology, morphometrics, pigmentation and electric organ discharges (EODs), of A. magdalenensis. We also review its distribution, ecology and conservation status.