VARIATION AND ABUNDANCE OF ICHTHYOPLANKTON IN TIDAL CHANNELS ON EXTREME NORTH BRAZIL

• Autor(a) principal: Zacardi, Diego Maia
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biota Amazônia
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.unifap.br/index.php/biota/article/view/1049

The aim of this study was to describe the spatial and temporal variation of the composition and abundance of the ichthyoplankton in the tidal channels of the Maracá-Jipioca island, at the Amapá coast. The surface water temperature and salinity presented mean values of 28.5 º C and 11 respectively. The lowest rainfall (124 mm) was recorded in November, and the largest was recorded in May (679 mm). A total of 18,191 fish larvae were captured andclassified into 36 taxa (18 species). The families Eleotridae and Gobiidae were dominant contributing with 90% of the total larvae captured. Among the species of economic interest, we captured larvae of Sciaenidae (Cynoscion acoupa, C. leiarchus, Micropogonias furnieri and Stellifer rastrifer) and others, as Elops sp., Caranx sp., Centropomus sp., Lutjanus sp., Mugil sp. and Arius sp. The highest density of larvae occurred in the inner areas of the channels, where the highest temperatures and lower salinities were recorded. The temporal distribution is probably associated with the seasonal rainfall regime and the local hydrodynamics. The spatial distribution of larvae indicated high faunal similarity between the sites. However, we emphasize the importance of these environments as breeding areas for fish species with ecological and economic importance, emphasizing the value of protection areas for the maintenance of fish stocks. Further studies in the region are recommended to increase the information on the ecology of early life stages of fish.Keywords: fish larvae; spatial and temporal distribution; coastal environment; northern region.