Freshwater fishes of Patagonia: Conservation and fisheries

VICTOR CUSSAC; EVELIN HABIT; JAVIER CIANCIO; MIGUEL BATTINI; CARLA RIVA ROSSI; JUAN PABLO BARRIGA; CLAUDIO BAIGÚN; SONIA CRICHIGNO

Jornal of Fish Biology

Springer

Lugar: Cambrigde; Año: 2016

Up until recently, the poor diversity of Patagonian fish fauna hasbeen one of the reasons for its frequent absence in the literature incomparison with the exuberant Neotropical diversity. However, thesystematization of knowledge regarding fishes in Patagoniarose sharply at the beginning of the present century. Probably, a major updatethat needs to be considered is that several threats to biodiversityconservation, such as the introduction of exotic species, damming, globalchange, and adaptation approaches geared to safeguard economic interests, seemto articulate in a synergistic way, representing nowadays a renewed threat tofish biodiversity in Patagonia. A great amountof new information is now available and the aim of the present review is toarticulate this knowledge in a comprehensive way in order to aid in thedevelopment of tools to face the increasing challenges that environmentalchange and human actions present. Knowledge about fishes of Patagoniahas grown at the same time as human actions, and presence. Like Tantalus, justas we are within graspof an appreciable comprehension of the ecological statusof its populations, the climate changes, the rivers are dammed and new exoticfishes are dispersed. Just as Midas, we cannot avoid to change all we touch.