RESOURCE USE AND DIET OF FRESHWATER STINGRAYS (CHONDRICHTHYES: POTAMOTRYGONIDAE) OF THE BIOLOGICAL RESERVE PARAZINHO, AP

• Autor(a) principal: Gama, Cecile de Souza
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Rosa, Ricardo de Souza
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biota Amazônia
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.unifap.br/index.php/biota/article/view/1134

Elasmobranchs are present in all aquatic ecosystems. They are dominant predators of the communities where they live and play an important role in the energy transfer among the upper trophic levels. The objective of this study was to understand the diet of stingray species found in the Biological Reserve of Parazinho (Amapá), to establish the type of food preferred by the group and by each species and the annual consumption of food items by assemblages. The collections were carried out from March 2012 to January 2013 by using longlines, inspected every falling tide, cast nets, jigs, and closing of tidal channels. For stomach content analysis, we used the food importance index (IAi). We analyzed 95 stomachs of stingrays in the following species: Potamotrygon orbignyi, P. motoro, P. constellata, P. scobina, P. dumerilii, P. sp.1, and P. sp.. The most important food items in the stingrays’ diet were shrimp (Macrobrachium amazonicum), followed by the gastropod mollusk Pomacea sp., crab, and fish. Shrimp was considered important in all collections. The food analysis showed a general preference of stingrays for food items abundant in the study area., The stingrays of the REBIO do Parazinho were found to be effective predators, preying on invertebrates, in particular, crustaceans followed by mollusks, insects, and annelids. The present study showed that stingrays are a group of opportunistic species that have the ability to utilize the food resources available in the environment and that they can adapt to different types of habitat and prey availability.Keywords: important food; opportunistic species; Potamotrygon.