Stream fish fauna from the tributaries of the upper Itapetininga River, upper Paranapanema River basin, state of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The study area, which is located in urban and rural areas within the upper Paranapanema River basin, is undergoing several types of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic impacts, such as chemical alterations, habitat disruption, and biological invasions. The aim of this study is to describe the fish faunal composition from tributaries of the Itapetininga River, upper Paranapanema River basin, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Herein, we include a list of 49 fish species, belonging to seven orders, 19 families and 35 genera, captured from September 2009 to November 2013. Thus, the present study fills part of the knowledge gap about the fish fauna from tributaries of the Paranapanema basin by adding data from small tributaries not studied so far. Moreover, our findings can help inform future conservational and/or management strategies within the upper Paranapanema basin.