Ichthyofauna diversity of Taperoá II reservoir, semi-arid region of Paraíba, Brazil.

To determine the fish species present in Taperoá II Reservoir, and their relevance to the local economy, this research aimed to evaluate the composition, abundance, degree of dominance and constancy of species, along with diversity, richness, evenness and similarity indices in a tropical semi-arid fish assemblage, during one year. Six 24 hour-long samplings were carried out between October 2005 and October 2006 using cast, seine and gillnets. The 889 collected individuals belonged to 11 species from 9 families. Temporal variation was observed in the capture frequency of different species, and a significant negative correlation between precipitation and number of individuals was also observed. Among the recorded families, Characidae showed a higher frequency of occurrence (38.4%), mostly due to Astyanax bimaculatus (Linnaeus, 1758) and A. fasciatus (Cuvier, 1819). Eight species were categorised as constant, two as accessory and one as accidental. Diversity index values were intermediate with low fluctuation throughout the study period, and no correlation with precipitation or water volume. However, the greatest diversity value was recorded in March 2006, when the peak of the precipitation was recorded. Evenness values showed a similar trend to the diversity index.