Community & population diversity in neotropical riverine ichthyofauna

The Curimatá, Prochilodus hartii (Characiformes: Prochilodontidae) is one of the most abundant fish species of the Jequitinhonha River Basin and was found to be threatened by hybridization with introduced congeneric species. Therefore, in order to comprehensively understand the consequences of fish introductions and the mechanisms of hybridization with native congeneric species, we propose the combined application of molecular genetics, morphological identification and reproductive analyses to investigate the hybrid fitness in order to understand the consequences of a biological invasion and the potential for “extinction by hybridization”. Also, we will test the environmental DNA approach to identify fish introductions in Neotropical catchments.