Ichthyological sampling in the Meullín-Puye Nature Sanctuary (Chile) and its influence area.

Citation

Description

This publication, under the responsibility of the Kreen Foundation, documents the ichthyological sampling events carried out in the Meullín-Puye Nature Sanctuary (SNMP) and nearby areas. The study area, located in the Cuervo River basin, Aysén Region, has records from 1997 to 2023, including 1375 fish occurrences, with emphasis on the native species Galaxias platei. The data includes length and weight and, when available, information on water quality.

The SNMP is a private protected area located in the Cuervo River basin in the Aysén region. In the 1990s, it was proposed to build a hydroelectric plant as part of the Alumysa project. When this project was canceled, the idea of building a hydroelectric plant continued in the hands of Energía Austral. After the cancelation of the hydroelectric projects, the land was sold and purchased by the Kreen Foundation for a conservation. Finally, on April 21, 2022, the Meullín-Puye Nature Sanctuary was officially declared.

The main threats identified to the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems in Patagonia are climate change, invasive alien species, diseases, harmful algal blooms, and alterations to the water network (Reid et al. 2021). One of the most important and unique features of the SNMP is its water network, which flows pristine from the glaciers to the fjord. In the entire upper part of this network (from about 3 kilometers upstream from the mouth of the fjord), there is no presence of salmonids or Didymosphenia geminata, invasive species that have drastically modified the freshwater ecosystems of the Patagonian Aysén in recent decades. The lake systems found within the protected area correspond to glacial lakes of oligotrophic type; Lake Yulton and Lake Meullín. The fish assemblage in the water systems of the upper part of the basin is composed exclusively of the Puye gigante —Galaxias platei— a species endemic to Chilean and Argentine Patagonia (Cussac et al. 2004). This species is particularly vulnerable to salmonid invasion, so its conservation in the last areas free of salmonids is key (Ortiz-Sandoval et al. 2017), and is therefore a central conservation objective of the project.

Fundación Kreen conducted a new biological baseline with the goal of updating the old baselines by 2021. In addition, as part of the management of the protected area, regular monitoring is carried out at various points in and around the reserve. During the processing of the hydroelectric projects in the basin, a large amount of environmental information was collected as part of the environmental impact assessments. The corresponding baseline data prior to Kreen's administration can be found on the website of the Environmental Evaluation Service (https://www.sea.gob.cl/) under the project names “Alumysa” and “Central Hidroeléctrica Río Cuervo”.

It is important to note that water quality data, available for certain events, can be readily accessed within the original archive. This data is not displayed on the GBIF platform due to its limitations in supporting extension data for events.

We thank Photosintesis consultants, specifically José Gerstle and Patricio Bahamondes, for their invaluable support in data collection during the 2021 expedition. Additionally, we extend our thanks to researchers Nicole Colin and Konrad Gorski from Universidad Austral for their participation in the 2022 expedition. We also wish to acknowledge Mauricio Aguayo, a researcher from Universidad de Concepción, for his support during the 2023 expedition.

Sampling Description

Taxonomic Coverages

Geographic Coverages

Bibliographic Citations

1. Cussac, V., Ortubay, S., Iglesias, G., Milano, D., Lattuca, M. E., Barriga, J. P., ... & Gross, M. (2004). The distribution of South American galaxiid fishes: the role of biological traits and post‐glacial history. Journal of Biogeography, 31(1), 103-121. -
2. Ortiz-Sandoval, J., Górski, K., Sobenes, C., González, J., Manosalva, A., Elgueta, A., & Habit, E. (2017). Invasive trout affect trophic ecology of Galaxias platei in Patagonian lakes. Hydrobiologia, 790(1), 201-212. -
3. Reid, B., Astorga, A., Madriz, I., & y Correa, C. (2021). Estado del conocimiento y conservación de los ecosistemas dulceacuícolas de la Patagonia occidental austral. In J. C. Castilla, J. J. Armesto y & M. J. Martínez-Harms (Eds.), Conservación en la Patagonia chilena: evaluación del conocimiento, oportunidades y desafíos (pp. 429–471). Santiago, Chile: Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile. -
4. Elosegi, A. (Ed.). (2009). Conceptos y técnicas en ecología fluvial. Fundación BBVa. -