Aquatic Faunal Survey of a Peruvian Amazon Floodplain

阿尔伯特和克拉普顿亚马孙泛滥平原是地球上物种最丰富的水生生态系统之一，包含了很大比例的专门化和地方性物种。这个为期三年的项目将调查和记录秘鲁亚马逊地区一个鲜为人知、种类繁多、脆弱的地区的水生动物。该项目代表了新热带水生动物学专业知识的独特组合，涉及美国、阿根廷、巴西、秘鲁、西班牙和委内瑞拉的科学家之间的国际合作。工作人员将对秘鲁帕卡亚·萨米里亚国家级保护区的水生动物进行详细的清查，包括鱼类和众多无脊椎动物群体。这个保护区是新热带地区最大的受保护泛滥平原毗连区(2.15万平方公里)。该项目将调查主要的水上泛滥平原栖息地：浮动草地、开阔水域、湖泊和河道。这些调查将包括动物群的季节和年度变化，以便对所有栖息地进行采样。收集工作将侧重于为大多数水生泛滥平原动物提供关键的低水位避难所和/或繁殖底物的栖息地。该项目将向世界各地几个机构的分类学专家提供标本和数据。该项目是应秘鲁政府和大学科学家的邀请，对帕卡亚·萨米里亚国家保护区进行第一次密集的水生调查。拟议的调查在重点、规模和紧迫性方面符合国家科学基金会的生物调查和清单计划和秘鲁环境部的目标和优先事项。帕卡亚·萨米里亚保护区的水生动物几乎完全不为人所知，秘鲁亚马逊泛滥平原任何地方的水生动物都没有广泛的系统收集或电子数据库。与更靠近城市中心的未受保护的地点相比，帕卡亚·萨米里亚保护区还保留了相对完整的森林和水生生态系统。该项目将为当地和美国的学生和教职员工提供培训，从而使保护、科学和教育界受益。

0215388Albert and CramptonAmazonian floodplains are among the most species-rich aquatic ecosystems on earth, and contain a large proportion of specialized and endemic species. This three-year project will survey and document the aquatic fauna of a poorly known, megadiverse and vulnerable region in the Peruvian Amazon. The project represents a unique combination of expertise in Neotropical aquatic zoology, involving international collaboration among scientists in the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Spain, and Venezuela. The personnel will conduct a detailed inventory of the aquatic animals, including fishes and numerous invertebrate groups, of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve in Peru. This reserve is the largest contiguous area of protected floodplain in the Neotropics (21,500 square kilometers). The project will survey the principal aquatic floodplain habitats: floating meadows, open waters, lakes and river channels. These surveys will embrace seasonal and annual changes in the fauna in order to sample all habitats. Collecting efforts will emphasize habitats that provide critical low water refuge and/or reproductive substrate for most aquatic floodplain animals. The project will provide specimens and data to taxonomic experts in several institutions worldwide.This Project was prompted by an invitation from leading Peruvian governmental and university scientists to conduct the first intensive aquatic survey of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve. The proposed survey matches the goals and priorities of the National Science Foundation's Biotic Surveys and Inventories program and Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, in terms of focus, scale, and urgency. The aquatic fauna of the Pacaya Samiria Reserve is almostcompletely unknown, and there are no extensive systematic collections or electronic databases of aquatic animals from anywhere in the Peruvian Amazon floodplains. The Pacaya Samiria Reserve also retains a relatively intact forest and aquatic ecosystem in comparison to unprotected sites closer to urban centers. This Project will provide training to local and U.S. students and faculty colleagues and thus benefit the conservation, scientific, and education communities.