Composición de especies y vulnerabilidad de peces de los ríos Sabogal y Medio Queso, vertiente atlántica norte de Costa Rica

Pineapple monoculture have increased its extension in Costa Rica, for example in the drainage area of the Sabogal river and Medio Queso river located northern Atlantic slope of Costa Rica. The aim of this study was to assess the species composition and vulnerability of fishes in these two rivers, and also to determine if Panama suckermouth Hypostomus aspidolepis (Günther 1866) actually occurs in both rivers. The Sabogal river and Medio Queso river (located in Los Chiles, Alajuela) were visited seven times between April 2014 and May 2016. Fishes were caught with a cast net (116 throws in the Sabogal river and 36 throws in the Medio Queso river), hook and line, and a small net. The vulnerability of the fishes was analyzed according to the criteria used by IUCN and FishBase. In total, 26 fish species (ten families) in the Sabogal river and 22 species (eight families) in the Medio Queso river were recorded. In the Sabogal river, tetras (Astyanax aeneus, A. bransfordii and Roeboides bouchellei) were the most abundant species (62% of total fishes). In the Medio Queso river, red breast cichlid Cribroheros longimanus, glass headstander R. bouchellei and jaguar guapote Parachromis managuensis predominated in the samples (52% of total fishes). Three of the recorded species (Megalops atlanticus, Gobiomorus dormitor and Pomadasys crocro) are currently included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. According to FishBase, one species (M. atlanticus) has very high intrinsic vulnerability and two species (Atractosteus tropicus and G. dormitor) have high intrinsic vulnerability. The presence of Panama suckermouth H. aspidolepis in both rivers was confirmed. The results suggest a high richness of fish species in Sabogal river and Medio Queso river, which may be threatened by the current land use and presence of the exotic fish H. aspidolepis.