9. PUBLICATIONS
Fig 10. Cover page of the laminated “Photo Guide to Fishes of the Rio Madre de Dios Watershed and its Lagoon System”.
Neither of the major publications referred to in our 2006 report have seen the light of day, but both have evolved. A draft of a monograph on the freshwater fishes of Talamanca is essentially complete, with detailed discussions (including scientific names, common names in several languages, distribution in Talamanca, habitat, tolerance level, trophic level, reproductive and migratory behavior and other comments as appropriate) for all 48 species taken in our biomonitoring samples, including 3 species added to the list during 2007. Notes on several other species which occasionally enter fresh water
are included. One factor which held back the monograph was mapping, and it underscores our need for more staff. Several individuals have contributed to the development of distribution maps for Talamancan fresh water fish, starting with a base map created by volunteer Kirsten Harma in 20032004, and with follow-up by several other volunteers. “Too many cooks” contributed to a situation in which we were unable to retrieve all the information until an October, 2007 visit from former volunteer Sophie Garrard. Starting with the information in Bill Bussing’s pioneering work “Peces de Las Aguas Continentales de Costa Rica”, we have now mapped almost every known location of 48 species. We are currently awaiting maps from Chris Lorion, a U. of Idaho/CATIE doctoral student who spent much of 2004-2006 studying fishes in small streams throughout inland Talamanca, in order to complete the work. We have held back on publishing the “short, popular version” of the Monograph requested by The Nature Conservancy, feeling that it will be more useful with a complete set of photos and a taxonomic key. During 2007 we took a systematic approach to collecting photos of Talamancan fishes, and are nearing what we consider an adequately complete collection. (Several examples of Maribel Mafla’s photos for the Guide grace this page.)
34