The ichthyology of the Tibagi river: a scientometric analysis of the last 10 years

Abstract

Located entirely in the state of Paraná, the Tibagi River is the largest tributary of the Paranapanema River, which in turn is one of the main tributaries of the Paraná River basin. Along its course, the Tibagi River crosses the municipalities of two of the state’s four largest cities, Londrina and Ponta Grossa. Considering the importance of this river, this study aimed to carry out a scientometric study, focusing on scientific production in ichthyology, between 2011 and 2021, in the Tibagi River basin. To this end, a systematic literature review was conducted on the CAPES, SciELO and PubMed databases using the following descriptors and Boolean operators: “Tibagi” AND (“fish” OR “fisheries” OR “ichthyofauna”). After analyzing the articles retrieved, 30 met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that 104 authors took part in the studies, linked to 20 Brazilian and 11 foreign research institutions, the most cited being the State Universities of Londrina and Maringá. Twenty-two scientific journals published the papers found, whose Qualis ranged from A1 to C, with B2 being the most frequent. Most of the articles were funded by public funding agencies, which shows the importance of public investment in research. The results showed that the Tibagi River basin continues to be the subject of studies and that these have contributed to increasing knowledge about the biodiversity of the Neotropical region.