This three-year project will survey and document the scarcely known fishes inhabiting the deep, principal channels of the Brazilian Amazon. Aquatic invertebrates and fish parasites will also be sampled. The project will also determine the large scale and local scale distribution of fish species and correlate these geographic patterns with environmental factors. The collection data will become part of NEODAT, an on-line database of neotropical fish biodiversity. This documentation of Amazonian deep channel fishes and their distribution is essential for monitoring biotic change and for planning fisheries management and conservation along the Amazon. The project will deposit research and teaching collections of fishes and associated tissues in Brazilian and US institutions for voucher records, future studies and the training of students. Collaborating Brazilian institutions/scientists include: (1) the Brazilian government funding agency, CNPq; (2) two ichthyologists from the Museu de Zoologia and the Universidade de Sao Paulo, and two fish ecologist at Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi in Belem; (3) one masters student and two doctoral students, one of which is currently completing her PhD with the PI at Arizona; (4) and INPA researcher with a CNPq scholarship; and (5) five postdoctoral students who will receive research training at the University of Arizona in addition to being part of the on-site research team. Other collaborators include researchers in the US (University of Washington), Venezuela (Universidad Central de Venezuela), France (ORSTROM) and Germany (Max Planck Institute). %%% This project will document the deep water fishes the Amazon River, Brazil and the mouths of its major tributaries. The results will become part of a national fish biodiversity database and will be critical to planning fisheries management and conservation for the Amazon region. The project includes training of Brazilian and US students in the field as well as the laboratory in the most modern methods of fish sampling and biodiversity research.
