ABSTRACT The Pampa biome, in South America, covers parts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Its main characteristic is the predominance of grassland areas. The Pampa biome supports high biological diversity and a wide variety of ecosystems. In this study, we provide a comprehensive overview of biodiversity studies focusing on freshwater ecosystems of the Pampa, based on the analysis of 340 articles. We found that the number of studies has increased significantly, particularly since 2012. Streams, rivers, and lakes are among the most studied ecosystems, while wetlands, ponds, reservoirs, artificial aquatic environments, and underground waters are less studied. Studies focusing on biological communities are the most common, followed by studies on the population level. In addition, Argentina accounts for the highest number of studies conducted in the biome, surpassing Brazil and Uruguay. Among the taxonomic groups, algae, fish, and molluscs are the most frequently studied in the reviewed literature. Nonetheless, our findings indicate that some taxa remain underrepresented in studies of the Pampa biome, such as fungi, nematodes, flatworms, rotifers, annelids, ciliates, and flagellates. Despite that remarkable increase in the number of publications over the last decade, particularly in Argentina, significant gaps remain regarding the coverage of different environments and taxonomic groups. Moreover, regional disparities in scientific output highlight the need for greater efforts and enhanced collaboration among all countries that share the biome.
Costa et al. (2026) studied this question.