<scp>NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES</scp>: A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics
Lívia Helena Tonella, Renata Ruaro, Vanessa S. Daga, Diego Azevedo Zoccal Garcia, Oscar Barroso Vitorino, Tatiana Lobato‐de Magalhães, Roberto Esser dos Reis, Fábio Di Dario, Ana Cristina Petry, Michael Maia Mincarone, Luciano Fogaça de Assis Montag, Paulo dos Santos Pompeu, Adonias Aphoena Martins Teixeira, Alberto Luciano Carmassi, Alberto J. Sánchez, Alejandro Giraldo Pérez, Alessandra Bono, Aléssio Datovo, Alexander S. Flecker, Alexandra Sanches, Alexandre Lima Godinho, Alexandre Matthiensen, Alexandre Peressin, Alexandre Wagner Silva Hilsdorf, Alexéia Barufatti, Alice Hirschmann, Aline Jung, Allan Keith Cruz-Ramírez, Alline Braga‐Silva, Almir Manoel Cunico, Amanda Saldanha Barbosa, Amauri de Castro Barradas, Ana Carolina Lacerda Rêgo, Ana Clara Sampaio Franco, Ana Paula Lula Costa, Ana Paula Vidotto‐Magnoni, Anderson Ferreira, Anderson Kassner Filho, André Batista Nobile, André Lincoln Barroso Magalhães, André Teixeira da Silva, Andréa Bialetzki, Andréa Cristina dos Santos Maroclo Gomes, Andrezza Bellotto Nobre, Armando César Rodrigues Casimiro, Arturo Angulo, Arthur A. C. dos Santos, Átila Rodrigues de Araújo, Augusto Frota, Bárbara Angélio Quirino, Beatriz Moreira-Ferreira, Bianca Weiss Albuquerque, Bruna Arbo Meneses, Brunno Tolentino Oliveira, Bruno Augusto Torres Parahyba Campos, Bruno Bastos Gonçalves, Bruno Busnello Kubiak, Bruno da Silveira Prudente, Bruno Gorini de Araujo Passos Pacheco, Bruno Kazuo Nakagawa, Bruno Tayar Marinho do Nascimento, Calebe Maia, Camila Cantagallo Devids, Carla Ferreira Rezende, Carla Muñoz‐Mendoza, Carlos A. Peres, Carlos Alberto de Sousa Rodrigues Filho, Carlos Alberto Santos de Lucena, Carlos Alexandre Fernandes, Carlos Benhur Kasper, Carlos DoNascimiento, Carmino Emidio Júnior, Carolina Carrillo‐Moreno, Carolina Machado, Carolina Costa Pêra, Caroline Hartmann, Catherine M. Pringle, Cecília Gontijo Leal, Céline Jezequel, Chris Harrod, Clarissa Rosa, Claudio Quezada‐Romegialli, Crisla Maciel Pott, Crislei Larentis, Cristiane Alves da Silva do Nascimento, Cristina da Silva Gonçalves, Cristina Jaques da Cunha, Cristina Moreira Pisicchio, Daniel Cardoso de Carvalho, Daniel Galiano, Daniel Gomez‐Uchida, Daniel Oliveira Santana, Daniel Salas Johnson, Danielle Katharine Petsch, Danielly Torres Hashiguti, Dayani Bailly, Débora Ferreira Machado, Débora Reis de Carvalho, Dhyego Hamilton Topan, Diego Cañas‐Rojas
Abstract
The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data. The number of species for the most numerous orders are as follows: Characiformes (1289), Siluriformes (1384), Cichliformes (354), Cyprinodontiformes (245), and Gymnotiformes (135). The most recorded species was the characid Astyanax fasciatus (4696 records). We registered 116,802 distribution records for native species, compared to 1802 distribution records for nonnative species. The main aim of the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set was to make these occurrence and abundance data accessible for international researchers to develop ecological and macroecological studies, from local to regional scales, with focal fish species, families, or orders. We anticipate that the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set will be valuable for studies on a wide range of ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, fishery pressure, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the impacts of species invasion and climate change. There are no copyright restrictions on the data, and please cite this data paper when using the data in publications.