Network of researchers and institutions working on the description of fish species from Tocantins-Araguaia ecoregion

Abstract

The Tocantins-Araguaia ecoregion corresponds to the Tocantins-Araguaia basin area upstream of the Tucuruí Power Plant. In this region the ichthyofauna is diverse with hundreds of described species. Thus, in this study, the objective was to reveal networks of researchers and institutions involved in the original descriptions of 270 species of fish in the Tocantins-Araguaia ecoregion from 1831 to 2019. In the analyses were considered 205 publications with the participation of 157 authors. The first descriptions were carried out by researchers and foreign institutions and gradually replaced by national ones. The descriptions have been published in 49 journals, the most frequent of which were Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, Neotropical Ichthyology, Zootaxa, and Copeia. Most articles were written by one (36.1%) or two authors (39.0%) and one (50.6%) or two (36.4%) institutions, with 5.3% written in Portuguese. The results suggest an upward trend in the description of species in recent decades, the result of a collaborative action between researchers and national and international institutions. However, the improvement of access and popularization of information should contribute to the dissemination of knowledge and inspire new researchers to get involved with the theme, considering the existing gaps. Therefore, the promotion of actions that make it easier for citizens to access scientific knowledge is one of the important steps in this process.