Cichla Kelberi, Kullander e Ferreira, 2006; um piscívoro introduzido na planície de inundação do alto rio Paraná : aplicação do modelo INVASS.

Abstract

The peacock bass Cichla kelberi Kullander and Ferreira, 2006, is native from the Amazon watershed, visual voracious predator with parental care, and presents great importance for sport fishing. This species was introduced in several Brazilian watersheds, with severe negative impacts on the native fish after its introduction. In the Upper Paraná River watershed, C. kelberi colonized the entire system, including the Upper Paraná River floodplain. By using the INVASS model, this study aimed to describe the current situation of the peacock bass colonization in the Upper Paraná River floodplain and identify the environmental factors that may limit or favor the invasion and expansion processes of C. kelberi. One possible arrival route of C. kelberi to the Upper Paraná River floodplain is through the dispersal of individuals coming from Itaipu Reservoir, and the first record in the dam-free stretch of the Upper Paraná River floodplain was made in 1992, in the Paraná and Ivinheima systems; but only in 2000, this species began to be captured in the Baía system. Only in the Paraná system, the species was considered as established. When C. kelberi reached the minimum viable population growth in this system, it dispersed until to the Baía system, in 2000 and Ivinheima system in 2002. Both systems show that population is growing, even with low water transparency, and similar to the Paraná system that presents high transparency. Thus, this variable can be considered as important only for the species establishment, and not for the population growth. Hence, the growth only depends on its own population dynamic. In this way, C. kelberi is in the dispersion step and we can predict its spread to new interconnected locations in the floodplain.