MotivationThe BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community‐led open‐source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables includedThe database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grainBioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2).Time period and grainBioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurementBioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format.csv and .SQL.

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Summary Major difficulties in studies monitoring or evaluating general environmental conditions are the intraspecific differences in population descriptors, such as the growth and reproductive period among different localities. The identification of feasible candidates for sentinel species requires basic information on these population parameters. Attention is drawn to the potential of the catfish Genidens genidens as a sentinel species for Brazilian estuarine environments, based on its compliance with a set of population descriptors and characteristics along a latitudinal gradient, and by providing new data from Guanabara Bay, one of the most important estuarine systems on the Brazilian coast. Populations of G. genidens along the southern and southeastern Brazilian coast vary little, showing a similar reproductive period and shape of the length–weight relationship among localities. This catfish is abundant, easy to catch, economically important, tolerant of environmental variations and human impacts, does not migrate, and can be found in reference localities, fulfilling the majority of the requirements for a sentinel species.

RESUMOA partir de levantamentos ictiofaunísticos disponíveis, foram selecionados 22 sistemas estuarinos ao longo da costa brasileira para o presente estudo. A extensão geográfi ca abrangeu desde ambientes equatoriais (estuário Amazônico -estado do Pará) até sub-tropicais (estuário do Arroio-Chuí -estado do Rio Grande do Sul). Um total de 304 espécies e 83 famílias de teleósteos demersais foram associadas a estes sistemas. As famílias Sciaenidae, Gobiidae, Serranidae, Ariidae, Haemulidae, Gerreidae, Paralichthyidae e Syngnathidae, nesta ordem, foram as mais representativas em número de espécies. De acordo com as estratégias de ocupação dos estuários, as espécies foram agrupadas em: estuarino-oportunistas (54,3%), aqüadulcícolas (14,9%), estuarinodependentes (13,2%), estuarino-residentes (9,9%) e diádromas (2,6%), além das espécies sem defi nição de suas estratégias de vida (5,0%). Apenas 11 espécies são comuns a todos os sistemas, sendo que o gobiídeo estuarinoresidente Gobionellus oceanicus encontra-se amplamente distribuído em todos os estuários. Observou-se que os padrões de distribuição das ictiocenoses ao longo da costa brasileira são mais associados à heterogeneidade espacial e tolerância à variação de salinidade do que às estratégias de vida das espécies. Palavras-chave: ictiofauna estuarina, peixes demersais, estuários brasileiros, estratégias de vida. ABSTRACT SPACE-TEMPORAL ORGANIZATION OF DEMERSAL FISH ASSEMBLAGES IN BRAZILIAN ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEMS: A SYNTHESIS.Twenty two Brazilian estuarine locations with published lists of their respective inhabiting fi sh species, were studied in preparing the present paper. They geographically varied from equatorial environments (the Amazonian estuary in Pará State) to subtropical envorironments (Arroi-Chuí estuary in Rio Grande do Sul State). A total of 304 demersal teleost species belonging to 83 families were listed to these systems. The following familes, in this order, were represented by a greater number of species: Sciaenidae, Gobiidae, Serranidae, Ariidae, Haemulidae, Gerreidae, Paralichthyidae and Syngnathidae. These species were grouped according to their life strategies as: estuarine opportunists (54.3%), freshwater fi sh (14.9%), estuarine-dependent fi sh (13.2%), estuarine-dwelling fi sh (9.9%), diadromous fi sh (2.6%) and fi sh with unknown life histrories (5.0%). Only 11 species were common to all examined estuarine localities and the estuarine-dwelling Gobionellus oceanicus (Gobiidae) presented the greatest range of different habitats. From comparison, it seems that with the geographical range of the different fi sh species depend heavily on their individual spatial heterogeneity and tolerance to salinity and not so much on their mode of life.

ABSTRACT

visits to the landing site of a small urban fishery (APREBAN) in Rio de Janeiro city were conducted and 816 specimens of Rhizoprionodon lalandii were analysed. The sample, mostly females, was composed of two cohorts: young-of-the-year were abundant in spring and summer and adults predominated in autumn and winter. Gravid females were most abundant from April to June, whereas postpartum females composed most of the catch in August to September. Adult males were present all year although were more abundant between February and July. No neonates were captured during the study and most embryos collected measured slightly below the reported total length (L T ) at time of birth (L 0 ) for the species, suggesting that parturition may occur slightly outside the main fishing grounds or that neonates were not captured in commercial gillnets set at this time of the year. The mean L T at maturity (L T50 ) for males was 578 mm and females matured between 620 and 660 mm, although a precise estimate of L T50 for females could not be determined. The total length (L T ) and total mass (M T ) relationship ðM T ¼ 7E À L 3Á2597 T Þ was calculated for both sexes and showed no significant differences. The mean condition factor increased steadily from February to July followed by a steep decrease in values relative to females in August and September, suggesting a pupping season. The present study area can be classified as a coastal juvenile habitat and a probable mating ground for R. lalandii.

The anadromous catfish, Genidens barbus, is a commercial and vulnerable species from South America. The aims of the present study were to assess whether the nursery areas can be discriminated by using microchemical signatures of lapillus otoliths, to assess the accuracy of classifying fish in relation to natal nursery area and to discuss the possibility of existence of homing behaviour. Thus, the otolith-core chemical signatures (barium (Ba):calcium (Ca), lithium (Li):Ca, magnesium (Mg):Ca, manganese (Mn):Ca, strontium (Sr):Ca, and zinc (Zn):Ca ratios) of adult fish were compared among different estuaries (De La Plata River in Argentina, and Patos Lagoon, Paranaguá Bay and Guanabara Bay in Brazil). PERMANOVA analysis showed significant differences in the multi-element signatures of the otolith core among sampling sites for all cohorts (2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007), indicating that the technique has considerable potential for use in future assessments of population connectivity and nursery areas of G. barbus. Via quadratic discriminant function analysis, fish were classified to natal nursery areas with 80–100% cross-validation classification accuracies. These results suggested that a high level of spatial segregation exists in adult catfish life and homing behaviour could not be ruled out on the basis of our data.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the use of multi-elemental otolith fingerprints as a tool to delimit catfish Genidens barbus fish stocks in four estuaries from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Barium:Calcium (Ca), Magnesium:Ca, Manganese:Ca, Sodium:Ca and Strontium:Ca ratios in the otolith edge were determined by LA-ICPMS. PERMANOVA analysis reveal significant differences in the multi-element signatures among estuaries (p=0.0001-0.002). Reclassification rates of quadratic discriminant analysis are high, averaging 89.9 % (78-100%). The new data presented here show that the otolith chemistry is a potential tool for stock identification, and indicates the presence of at least four stocks which should probably be handled independently.