Field Diary

For two weeks, scientists from the University of São Paulo collected specimens of poraquês and other fish of the order Gymnotiformes aboard the vessel Comandante Gomes. The Agência FAPESP report followed the work in the field.

In preparation for the expedition down the Negro River in search of fish of the order Gymnotiformes, researchers gather more than 200 kilos of equipment and supplies for detecting, collecting and storing specimens.

Historic drought in the Negro River basin and a possible inaccurate description of the distribution of Iracema caiana may be reasons why the species was not found by the DEGy Negro River Expedition. The episode describes the first collections.

A species from the Negro River basin uses the spaces between the roots and hollows of trees to build nests and care for its young for four to six months, leaving only at night to hunt.

The most abundant electric fish are found from the bottom of large rivers to igarapés, where they can bury themselves in the sand or blend into the leaf litter. In two weeks, an expedition in the Negro River basin collected 27 species of the group.

The low severity of the injury, rapid medical attention and appropriate care meant that the researcher was able to return to work on the same day he was stung by a venomous fish. In the Amazon, cases often get worse because a lack of specialized care.

One of the fishing methods used to collect electric fish in the DEGy Negro River Expedition was employed for the first time on a large scale in freshwater during the Calhamazon project, which brought together researchers from Brazil and the United States between 1993 and 1996.

The last episode of the series of reports takes stock of the journey of a group of researchers from the USP Museum of Zoology, who spent two weeks traveling along the Negro, Preto and Jauaperi rivers in the states of Amazonas and Roraima.