Greetings SFAS Aquarists,
For the Month of June, i'm excited to announce that we have Leandro Sousa from Altamira, Brazil presenting on The conservation status of Xingu Plecos after nine years of operation of Belo Monte Dam.

About the Speaker:

Leandro Sousa from Altamira, Brazil, is an Ichthyologist and Professor of Biology at the Universidade Federal do Pará, right in front of the Xingu rapids, and is doing extensive field trips with local fishermen to try to understand the amazing loricariid diversity found in that place. He uses scuba diving techniques to register the fishes, the rocks they live in, as well as how fishermen catch them. Since 2014 he coordinates a Conservational Breeding Project of Xingu Endemic species at the University, focused mainly in Hypancistrus zebra and other Loricariidae and created the IctioXingu project to raise public awareness on social media about native ornamental fish and conservation.

About the presentation:

The Xingu River is the fourth largest river in the Amazon and home to more than 600 fish species, around 10% of which belong to our beloved plecos. This fantastic diversity is under pressure throughout the entire basin, from mining to deforestation, agricultural activities and hydroelectric dams. The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam started it’s operation in 2016 and several habitat changes occurred in the last seven years. In this presentation, Leandro will show us what has changed and how species of Loricariidae are coping with the new environment.

 
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