Composition and assemblage structure of demersal fish from São Cristóvão beach, Areia Branca, RN

Abstract

Fish assemblages are an important element of sandy beaches, as they are fundamental for these ecosystems' balance of energy. Descriptions of the structure of fish assemblages in the sandy beaches of northeastern Brazil are scarce; this is especially true for the state of Rio Grande do Norte, which northern coast is poorly studied. This study aimed to identify the fish fauna of São Cristóvão Beach and to determine their assemblage structure. Three trawlings, considered as replicates, were undertaken monthly, in the same day, during 10 minutes each time, parallel to the coastal line, and in the direction of current, from February 2010 to January 2011. To describe the general pattern of the fish assemblage, the abundance, frequency and trophic categories of each species were estimated. On São Cristóvão Beach, 8894 individuals were captured, belonging to 58 species, 48 genera and 28 families. The most abundant and frequent species were Pomadasys corvinaeformis (Steindachner, 1868), Cathorops spixii (Agassiz, 1829), Stellifer rastrifer (Jordan, 1889), Pellona harroweri (Fowler, 1917), Stellifer stellifer (Bloch, 1790), Chirocentrodon bleekerianus (Poey, 1867), Larimus breviceps Cuvier, 1830, Menticirrhus americanus (Linnaeus, 1758)and Conodon nobilis (Linnaeus, 1758). The most abundant trophic category was first order carnivores. The ichthyofauna of São Cristóvão Beach is diversified and the most representative families match those observed in sandy beach ecosystems from other Brazilian regions. The results presented here reflect the basic knowledge necessary to conduct further research in the region.

The barred grunt Conodon nobilis (Perciformes: Haemulidae) in shallow areas of a tropical bight: spatial and temporal distribution, body growth and diet

“…Members of Conodon are the barred grunts, of which Conodon nobilis is the only species in the western Atlantic (Konchina 1977). It occurs from Texas in the southern USA to Santa Catarina in southern Brazil and is very common in demersal assemblages of sandy coastal areas, but also occurs along rocky shores and in brackish and estuarine waters, mostly recorded using surf zones rather than estuaries as nursery areas (Oliveira 1974;Menezes and Figueiredo 1980;Godefroid et al 2004;Barletta et al 2005;da Santana and Severi 2009;de Dantas et al 2012). Knowledge of C. nobilis is derived basically from studies on demersal assemblages, in some cases with notes on the influence of abiotic factors on its distribution (Godefroid et al 2004;da Santana and Severi 2009;de Dantas et al 2012).…”

Diel Variations and Ecological Aspects in Fish Assemblages of a Sandy Beach in the Semi-Arid Region of Northeast Brazil.

“…In Brazil, it is noticeable that Sciaenidae contributes with the largest number of species (LoweMcConnell, 1999) and it is mentioned as the richest and most abundant family in several Brazilian studies concerning sandy beach ecosystems (Godefroid et al, 2004;Freitas et al, 2011;Dantas et al, 2012). The occurrence of few dominant species, either in number or in biomass, and the presence of many occasional and sporadic species is a commonly observed pattern in sandy beaches (Godefroid et al, 2003;Felix et al, 2007, Dantas et al, 2012. This pattern was observed in this study due to the considerable number of species classified as not abundant and infrequent and as not abundant and frequent.…”

Seasonality of Ichthyofauna Bycatch in Shrimp Trawls from Different Depth Strata in the Southern Brazilian Coast

“…The proximity of the study areas with the surf zone may well increase that influx of species, because this habitat is known as a key one when speaking of fish recruitment factors (Pessanha and Araújo, 2003). Cathorops spixii, S. setapinnis, T. lepturus, P. harroweri, and S. testudineus were collected in high numbers during our work and are routinely, and abundantly, captured in the surf zone (Dantas, Feitosa, and Araújo, 2012;Santana and Severi, 2009), which may well lead us to suppose that these species inhabit both study areas in distinct phases of their life history and may use them differently for foraging and reproduction. Some infrequent species sampled, e.g., P. harroweri, U. brasiliensis, and B. ronchus in area I and M. littoralis and F. petimba in area II, were present in moderate numbers and concentrated in one sampling period, probably indicating an aggregation behavior in the study area.…”