title: Ecohydrological modeling and environmental flow regime in the Formoso River, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.
abstract: This paper aimed at determining the environmental flow regime in a 1 km stretch of the Formoso River, MG, using River2D model. To carry out the ecohydrological modeling, the following information was used: bathymetry, physical and hydraulic features, and the Habitat Suitability Index for species of the Hypostomus auroguttatus. In the River2D, the Weighted Usable Areas were determined from the average long-term streamflows with percentage from 10% to 100%. Those streamflows were simulated for the later construction of optimization matrices that maximize the habitat area throughout the year. For H. auroguttatus Juvenile, higher values of Weighted Usable Area were associated with the percentage of 60% and 70% of the average long-term streamflows in October and September, respectively. For H. auroguttatus Adult, the highest value of Weighted Usable Area was associated with the percentage of 100% of the average long-term streamflow in September. The environmental flows found for this stretch of the Formoso River varied over the year. The lowest environmental flow was observed in December (2.85 m3 s-1), while the highest was observed in May (4.13 m3 s-1). This paper shows the importance of ecohydrological studies in forming a basis for water resources management actions.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Engenharias, Universidade Federal de Pelotas/UFPEL, Rua Benjamim Constant, 989, Simões Lopes, 96010-020 Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hugo A S
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Guedes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal de Viçosa/UFV, Avenida PH Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, 36570-000 Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Demetrius D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa/UFV, Avenida PH Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, 36570-000 Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dergam
authors.affiliation: Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Espírito Santo, Avenida Arino Gomes Leal, 1700, 29700-660 Colatina, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Abrahão A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Elesbon