LTER Baixo Sabor: Long term monitoring of freshwater fish - Sabor watershed [2012 - 2020]

Study Extent

Data were collected in 50-m sampling reaches distributed across the entire watershed of the Sabor River and its main tributaries (e.g., Maçãs, Angueira), and they are located in the municipalities of Torre de Moncorvo, Alfândega da Fé, Mogadouro, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Bragança and Vimioso.

Sampling

The data was collected between 2012 and 2020, using standard electrofishing protocols (INAG, 2008) in a stream stretch of 50 meters for 15-25 minutes, with longer surveys in wider and deeper streams to properly cover the stretch. Within each segment, fish were sampled using a single anode electrofishing gear (350-750V, 3-5A, DC). Electrofishing was always conducted by the same operator, while a second operator was tasked with the netting of the displaced fish. All captured individuals were identified on site and released after the sampling session. In accordance with the Portuguese legislation, all individuals belonging to exotic species were euthanized, instead of being returned to the wild. All sampling were conducted under the appropriate permits of Portuguese conservation authority, the Instituto da Conservação da Natures e Florestas (ICNF). Details of the methods are available in Ferreira et al. (2016) and Mota-Ferreira et al. (2021).

Quality Control

All fish identifications were performed by experienced researchers and technicians

Method steps

1. To be completed

The taxonomic coverage of this dataset spans 1 phylum, 1 class, 3 orders, 5 families, 13 genera and 14 species.

1. Chordata
   rank: phylum
2. Actinopterygii
   rank: class
3. Cypriniformes
   rank: order
4. Perciformes
   rank: order
5. Salmoniformes
   rank: order
6. Cobitidae
   rank: family
7. Cyprinidae
   rank: family
8. Poeciliidae
   rank: family
9. Centrarchidae
   rank: family
10. Salmonidae
    rank: family

Data were collected in 50-m sampling reaches distributed across the entire watershed of the Sabor River and its main tributaries (e.g., Maçãs, Angueira), and they are located in the municipalities of Torre de Moncorvo, Alfândega da Fé, Mogadouro, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Bragança and Vimioso.