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Assessing fish sampling effort in studies of Brazilian streams

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Abstract

Neotropical stream fish assemblages have attracted much scientific attention in recent decades. However, spatial and temporal patterns in sampling, and the types of methodologies being used in studies, remains unclear. Here, we conducted an in-depth review of the published literature on Brazilian stream fish assemblages, recording where and how these surveys were conducted. We found that the number of studies has increased over time, but significant geographic biases remain, with most studies having been conducted in southeastern and southern Brazil. Studies deployed a variety of sampling methods, but we found a growing trend towards the use of the electrofishing, sampling stream lengths of 50 meters, and over a duration of 60 min. Rarefaction curves showed that sampling effort is low in relation to the number of streams sampled in all basins studied, especially in the Amazon, Tocantins Araguaia, São Francisco and Uruguay basins, and northeast Brazil. Thus, we emphasize the importance of further surveys in these regions, since even basic parameters for ecological studies and conservation, such as species richness, remain critically underestimated. In light of the recent reductions in public funding for scientific research in Brazil, we also highlight the importance of networks and collaborations between Brazilian ichthyologists to add more value to scientific production and contribute to the greater standardization of data.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Diego Rodrigues Macedo and Nathália Carvalho for their contributions to the preparation of the map. Special thanks to Lilian Casatti, Fabrício Barreto Teresa, Yzel Rondon Súarez, Ruanny Casarim, Maurício Cetra, Uwe Horst Schulz, Alexandre Peressin, Augusto Frota, Mônica Ceneviva-Bastos, Cleber Valim Alexandre, Almir M. Cunico, Camilo Andrés Roa-Fuentes, Gabriel Brejão, Katharina E. Esteves, Alexandre Kemenes, Daniela C. O. Rosa, Débora Reis Carvalho, Sandra Forneck, João Fernando M. Silva, Helder Espírito-Santo, Fábio Cop Ferreira, Jean Michel Corrêa, Crislei Larentis, Nadja Gomes Machado, Valdeci Antônio de Oliveira, Alexandre Clistenes de Alcântara Santos, Daniel Bartolomei Vieira, Bianca Terra, Fábio Silveira Vilella, George Mendes T. Mattox, Franco Teixeira de Mello, Thiago Bernardi Vieira for providing their published and unpublished datasets in digital form. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior- Brasil (CAPES)- Finance Code 001. O presente trabalho foi realizado com o apoio da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). Paulo Santos Pompeu was awarded a productivity research Grant by CNPq/Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq No. 303548/2017-7) and a Minas Gerais State Researcher Grant by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG PPM-00608/15).

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Correspondence to Nara Tadini Junqueira.

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Junqueira, N.T., Magnago, L.F. & Pompeu, P.S. Assessing fish sampling effort in studies of Brazilian streams. Scientometrics 123, 841–860 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03418-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03418-4

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