Freshwater fishes of Hidalgo state (Mexico) in the MZNA fish collection of the University of Navarra (Spain)

Description

The state of Hidalgo (Mexico) is an important region from the point of view of biodiversity. However, there exists a significant gap in accessible knowledge about species diversity and distribution, especially regarding to freshwater ecosystems.

This dataset comprises the sampling records of two projects developed in Hidalgo between 2007 and 2009 about the freshwater fish communities of Tecocomulco lake and rivers belonging to the Metztitlán Canyon Biosphere Reserve. It contains the taxonomic identity (species level) and basic biometric data (total length and weight) as well as date of collection and coordinates of more than 9000 specimens. This dataset is the primary result of the first and unrepeated exhaustive freshwater fish’s survey of Metztitlán Canyon Biosphere Reserve and Tecocomulco lake. It incorporates seven more species to the regional fish fauna, and new exclusive biometric data of ten species.

This dataset can be used by studies dealing with, among other interests, North American freshwater fish diversity (species richness, distribution patterns) and biometric analyses, useful for the management and conservation of these areas. The complete dataset is also provided in Darwin Core Archive format.

Type of content

Includes: point occurrence data, species list, conservation status.

Citation

Please cite this data as follows, and pay attention to the rights documented in the rights.txt: Please respect the rights declared for each dataset in the download:

Galicia D, Miranda R, Monks S, Pulido-Flores G, Ariño AH (2013) Freshwater fishes of Hidalgo state (Mexico) in the MZNA fish collection of the University of Navarra (Spain)

Rights

Dataset: Freshwater fishes of Hidalgo state (Mexico) in the MZNA fish collection of the University of Navarra (Spain)

Rights as supplied: This [DATA(BASE)-NAME] is made available under the Open Data Commons

Attribution License: http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Australia (CC BY-NC)

Data generalisations

Geographic Coverage: Hidalgo State, East-Central Mexico. Barranca de Metztitlán Biosphere Reserve (20.23–20.75N; 98.95-98.38W) and Lake Tecocomulco (19.83-19.90N; 98.44-98.35W)

Study Area Description: The state of Hidalgo is located in east central Mexico, at the intersection of the Mexican Neovolcanic Belt, the central highland plateau (Mesa Central) and the Sierra Madre Oriental. Rivers of Hidalgo, part of the Pánuco, Tuxpan and Cazones basins, flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Fishes in the region are relatively diverse and contain Neotropical and Nearctic species, suggesting that this is a transition zone between the two ecozones (Soria-Barreto et al., 1996). The region is characterized by extreme variation in local ecological systems and a high diversity of flora and fauna, produced by geographic isolation of local populations (Pulido-Flores et al., 2005).

The Metztitlán Canyon Biosphere Reserve (Hidalgo, Mexico) covers an area of approximately 96000 ha and was designated as a biosphere reserve in 2000. The reserve is situated in the rain shadow of the Sierra Madre Oriental, producing an arid climate and receiving just one quarter of the rainfall of nearby areas located at higher elevations within the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Lake Tecocomulco is the only remaining natural water body in the basin of Gran Cuenca del Valle de Mexico. Its surface varies from 7 to 15 km2, depending on the quantity of seasonal rainfall. The lake has turbid and shallow waters, normally with 15-20 m maximum depth, reaching 3 m during some rainy seasons. Sodium, bicarbonates and sulphates are the dominant ions and smaller proportions of calcium, magnesium and chlorine are present (Caballero et al., 1999). Scirpus lacustris L. is the dominant aquatic plant and it extends over much of the central part of the lake. Submerged (Najas spp., Potamogeton spp.) and free floating (Lemna spp.) species are present between the patches of S. lacustris.

• Cobertura taxonómica: All specimens are identified to species level. Collection comprises 17 species (and two hybrids) of fishes belonging to eight families of the orders Atheriniformes, Ciprinodontiformes, Ostariophysi and Perciformes.

Information withheld

• Funding: Project CGL2006-02844/BOS from the Plan Nacional de IDI (2004–2007), Dirección General de Investigación, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Gobierno de España. Regional Development Fund (ERDF), project FOMIXHGO-2005-CO1-1 from CONACYT-FOMIX, Hidalgo, Mexico. Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional of the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación, Gobierno de España (A/6357/06).

Digitised records

Metadata last updated on 2016-04-28 07:29:13.0