Ictio update: platform revisions and improvements

Ictio update: platform revisions and improvements
January 31, 2025 Gabriela Merizalderubio

In 2024, Ictio validated more than 130,000 fish observations thanks to the joint collaboration of citizen scientists and volunteers. This achievement ensures high quality data for monitoring Amazonian biodiversity and sets the path for further updates.

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At the end of last year, we completed the review of the Ictio database, a process in which volunteers meticulously verified each recorded observation. During this phase, observations marked as “tests,” as well as those with inconsistencies in quantity or weight, or with incorrect identifications, were either invalidated or corrected. As a result, of a total of 131,617 observations, 130,516 were validated, corresponding to 121 species or species groups, recorded in 83,538 valid fishing events (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: As of December 31, 2024, Ictio has collected a total of 130,516 fish observations in 83,538 lists (fishing events). This information has been recorded in 151 of the 198 Level 4 sub-basins of the Amazon, representing 76% of the total.

Currently, there are 732 registered citizen scientists and organizations that have shared information in 151 Level 4 sub-basins (BL4) of the Amazon, representing 76% of the total sub-basins. (For more details on the basin classification used by Ictio, see Venticinque et al., 2016, “New Geographic Information System (GIS) for Rivers and Basins for the Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems in the Amazon.”) The “Madeira – upstream of the Jamari” sub-basin continues to lead in the number of records with 21,291 observations, followed by the “São Manoel – upstream of Peixoto de Azevedo” sub-basin (17,398 observations) and the “Amazonas/Solimões – between Juruá and Negro” sub-basin (14,739 observations) (Figure 2).

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Figure 2: BL4 sub-basins with the most records in Ictio as of December 31, 2024.

Reported species

Of the 121 species or species groups recorded in Ictio, “Other fishes” remains the most recorded group. The thick-scaled jaraqui (Semaprochilodus insignis) leads with 8,574 observations, followed by the curimatá (Prochilodus nigricans) with 7,648 observations and the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) with 7,498 observations (Figure 3).

The Ictio platform allows for the registration of 130 species or species groups, along with the “Other fish” (“Fish sp”) option to include species that are not yet in the database. When using “Fish sp,” it is important to provide the fish name in the comments field, which helps document the request to include new species of interest for citizen scientists. During the database review, we used these observations, along with the submitted photos, to update the correct names of fish previously classified as “Other fish.”

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Figure 3: Species or species groups with the most records in Ictio as of December 31, 2024.

Ictio prepares for new database format

Thanks to the success of Ictio and its contribution to the knowledge of fish in the Amazon Basin (read more in “Analysis of Ictio Data Potential”), the platform is preparing for a database update process, which will be available in a new format. These improvements will include technical advancements related to data storage and loading, as well as the incorporation of new variables.

Although these updates will take several months, we have already completed a comprehensive review of the database. This process, known as “curation,” involved volunteers carefully assessing each record to identify inconsistencies. It is crucial for maintaining the quality of data in our shared Amazon fish observation database. As part of the curation, 1,101 records were invalidated and others were revalidated using the submitted photos.

In addition to the technical updates, we continue to promote the use of new data collection tools. The protocols in Anecdata, with the support of WCS Bolivia, are already available and can be accessed on Ictio Bolivia, Ictio Peru, Ictio Colombia, Ictio Ecuador, and Ictio Brazil. In other news, the SMART methodology, led by WCS Ecuador, is under development and will be available this semester.

GLOSSARY

Checklists: Lists of fish caught in a fishing event.

BL4 Basins: Basin level 4 is the scale that delineates all tributary sub-basins between 10,000 km² and 100,000 km².

Observations: Records of species/groups of fish species caught in the Amazon Basin.

Users: Amazonian citizens using the ICTIO application or platform, consisting mainly of local and indigenous peoples, individual fishers, management groups, associations of fishermen, and scientists.

 

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This note is made possible thanks to the support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The content is the responsibility of the Wildlife Conservation Society and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Moore Foundation.