Do protected areas conserve neotropical freshwater fishes? A case study of a biogeographic province in Venezuela
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
The effectiveness of protected areas to conserve freshwater fishes is limited because these areas are not usually congruent with regional patterns of fish species richness and distribution. We compared the richness, distribution and abundance of coastal freshwater fishes in a biogeographic province of Venezuela to determine their conservation status. We also estimated the relevance of existing protected areas in conserving fishes in different physiographic units and tributaries by evaluating species richness and distribution. The ichthyofauna (72 spp., ~30% endemic, ~10% threatened) was distributed according to orography, drainage and physiographic units. Most protected areas had limited effectiveness for fish conservation, mainly because they were too small or included only fragments of tributaries or drainages, or because they were located only in highland drainages where species diversity was minimal. To adequately protect freshwater fishes in this province the existing protected areas should be modified and expanded.
Article Details
(c) Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 2025
Copyright
The authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work available simultaneously under a Creative Commons attribution license that allows sharing of the work with third parties, as long as they recognize authorship and the initial publication in this journal.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- C. Román–Valencia, R. I. Ruiz–C, D. C. Taphorn B., C. García–Alzate, Three new species of Bryconamericus (Characiformes, Characidae), with keys for species from Ecuador and a discussion on the validity of the genus Knodus , Animal Biodiversity and Conservation: Vol. 36 No. 1 (2013)
- C. Román-Valencia, C. García-Alzate, R. I. Ruiz-C., D. C. Taphorn B., Bryconamericus macarenae n. sp. (Characiformes, Characidae) from the Güejar River, Macarena mountain range, Colombia , Animal Biodiversity and Conservation: Vol. 33 No. 2 (2010)
- C. Román–Valencia, R. I. Ruiz–C., D. C. Taphorn B., P. Jiménez–Prado, C. A. García–Alzate, A new species of Bryconamericus (Characiformes, Stevardiinae, Characidae) from the Pacific coast of northwestern Ecuador, South America , Animal Biodiversity and Conservation: Vol. 38 No. 2 (2015)
- C. Román-Valencia, D. C. Taphorn B., R. I. Ruiz-C., Two new Bryconamericus: B. cinarucoense n. sp. and B. singularis n. sp. (Characiformes, Characidae) from the Cinaruco River, Orinoco Basin, with keys to all Venezuelan species , Animal Biodiversity and Conservation: Vol. 31 No. 1 (2008)
- C. Román–Valencia, R. I. Ruiz–C., D. C. Taphorn B., C. García–Alzate, A new endemic species of Bryconamericus (Characiformes, Characidae) from the Middle Cauca River Basin, Colombia , Animal Biodiversity and Conservation: Vol. 37 No. 2 (2014)