A study of the fish community structure in a tidal creek

Abstract

The fish assemblage in a mangrove tidal creek was studied in monthly collections between August 1998 and July 1999 in the quadrature low tide and high tide, using a fyke net of 30 m x 1.5 m and meshes of 8 and 10 mm. Simultaneously with the biological collections, temperature, salinity, pH, water transparency, and current speed data were obtained. The collections resulted in the capture of 36,873 fish representing 22 families and 52 species. Immature individuals abounded (63.8%), and among the adult specimens there was a larger number of females. The species Anchoa parva, Harengula clupeola, Genidens genidens, and Bairdiella ronchus, contributed to 84.9% of the total capture of fish, however the contribution in mass was of 55.2%, indicating a predominance of small individuals. A smaller number of fish and species seem to occupy the area in the period between August and December, in comparison to the period between February and July, when the larger aggregations appear, mainly of the species Anchoa parva, Harengula clupeola, Opisthonema oglinum, Genidens genidens, Diapterus rhombeus, and Bairdiella ronchus. The environmental factors, pH, water transparency, and rainfall seem to have an influence in the structure of the observed biological patterns.Key words: tidal creek, fishes, diversity, abundance, temporal variation. RESUMO Um estudo sobre a estrutura da comunidade de peixes de um rio de maréA comunidade de peixes em um rio de maré de mangue foi estudada em coletas mensais entre agosto de 1998 e julho de 1999 na baixa-mar e preamar de quadratura, utilizando-se uma rede fixa tipo "fyke" com 30 m x 1,5 m e malhas de 8 e 10 mm. Simultaneamente às coletas biológicas, foram registrados dados de temperatura, salinidade, pH, transparência da água e velocidade da corrente. As coletas resultaram na captura de 36.873 peixes, representando 22 famílias e 52 espécies. Predominaram indivíduos imaturos (63,8%) e as fêmeas, entre os adultos. As espécies Anchoa parva, Harengula clupeola, Genidens genidens e Bairdiella ronchus constituíram 84,9% da captura total de peixes, no entanto, a participação em peso foi de 55,2%, indicando o predomínio de indivíduos de pequeno porte. Um menor número de peixes e espécies parece ocupar a área no período entre agosto e dezembro, comparado ao período entre fevereiro e julho, quando aparecem os maiores agregados, principalmente das espécies Anchoa parva, Harengula clupeola, Opisthonema oglinum, Genidens genidens, Diapterus rhombeus e Bairdiella ronchus. O pH, a transparência da água e a pluviosidade parecem influenciar a estruturação dos padrões biológicos observados.Palavras-chave: rios de maré, peixes, diversidade, abundância, variabilidade temporal.

Heterogeneity in intertidal fish fauna assemblages along the world’s longest mangrove area in northern Brazil

“…The intertidal fish fauna of the PA coast was dominated by benthophage and estuarine resident species suggesting that most energy taken up by intertidal mangrove fishes remains in the estuarine system. This is similar to other tropical mangrove estuaries (Blaber, 1997; Albaret, 1999; Spach et al , 2004; Vidy et al , 2004). In São Luis Island, estuarine–marine and estuarine species were more important than in the PA creeks, suggesting a greater export of material from the mangrove system due to fish migration.…”

Fish communities of two tidal creeks in the Pinheiros bay, state of Paraná, southern Brazil

“…The great number of individuals and biomass of few clupeiforms species in the fall were also found in several studies within and outside the Baía de Paranaguá (Gay et al, 2000;Oliveira Neto et al, 2004;Spach et al, 2004 a;Vendel et al, 2002). The species that are members of the most basal levels of the food web are the most directly favored by the increase in primary productivity that occurs in the warmest seasons of the year (Brandini & Thamm, 1994;Spach et al, 2004 b) and they are the most dominant species in several marine environments (Barreiros et al, 2004;Blaber et al, 1984;Ross et al, 1987).…”

“…testudineus, C. spixii, G. genidens, and B. ronchus were dominant benthophagic species that showed considerable irregularity in abundance, yet were still present throughout the entire year, as seen in other regions of the same estuarine system (Godefroid et al, 1998;Oliveira-Neto et al, 2004;Spach et al, 2004;Spach et al, 2003;Vendel et al 2002.). …”

Space–Time Distribution of the Ichthyofauna from Saco da Fazenda Estuary, Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil

“…In Brazil, most studies dealing with estuarine fish assemblages were made in Rio de Janeiro (Andreata et al, 1990(Andreata et al, , 2002Araú jo et al, 1998Araú jo et al, , 2001Brum et al, 1994;Costa, 1984;Pessanha et al, 2000), Paraná Bouchereau, 1999a, 1999b;Chaves and Corrêa, 1998;Neto et al, 2004;Santos et al, 2002;Spach, Santos, and Godefroid, 2003;Spach et al, 2004;Vendel et al, 2002), Rio Grande do Sul (Chao et al, 1982;Vieira, 1997, 2001;Godefroid et al, 2004;Pereira, 1994;Silva, 1982) and in some areas of the north states (Araú jo, Teixeira, and Oliveira, 2000;Camargo and Isaac, 2001;Castro, 2001;Lopes, Oliveira-Silva, and Ferreira-Melo, 1998;Vasconcelos-Filho and Oliveira, 1999). Although Santa Catarina's coast has a fair number of important estuaries, their fish assemblages have been seldom DOI: 10.2112/08-1050.1 received 30 July 2008accepted in revision 1 August 2008. studied (Hostim-Silva et al, 2002).…”