Conservation status and distribution of the freshwater Catfish Eremophilus mutisii (Trichomycteridae) in Cundinamarca, Colombia

Abstract

Eremophilus mutisii (Humboldt, 1805), is an endemic fish to the Cundiboyacense plain, currently classified as vulnerable. The national programme to the catfish conservation, was used as a source for implementing the conservation plan in the CAR Cundinamarca in 2018. The present study performed the conservation status diagnosis of E. mutisii in Cundinamarca region which provides the basis for this conservation plan. In accordance, catfish geographical distribution was investigated by accessing biological collection information and conducting fish surveys of both lentic and lotic systems in pre-selection sites identified by the CAR officials and the research team. E. mutisii presence was evaluated in the Suárez, Bogotá (high basin), Ubaté, Veraguas, Frío, Aguas Claras and Muña rivers, also in the Fúquene lagoon and the Neusa and Tominé reservoirs. An electric fishing technique and physicochemical parameters measurement were used as the fish sampling approach of this study. The catfish catch per unit effort was 0.054 and 0.044 individuals/hour for rivers and lagoons (or reservoirs), respectively. A total of 17 individuals were captured, 53% of them were adults, 41% juveniles and 6% small fry. The length-weight relationship found indicates that the species growth was positive allometric. It was confirmed that catfish is geographically distributed in an elevation range of 2540–3000 masl, although it was not reported in the Bogotá, Veraguas, Ubaté, Suarez and Frio rivers. The decline of E. mutisii populations is mainly due to anthropic factors, such as transformation and fragmentation of ecosystems, introduction of invasive species and water bodies contamination.