Spatial variability of the ichthyoneuston around oceanic islands at the tropical Atlantic

Santana, Jana Ribeiro de; Costa, Alejandro Esteweson Santos Faustino da; Neumann‐Leitão, Sigrid; Mafalda, Paulo de Oliveira; Veleda, Dóris; Schwamborn, Silvia H.L.

doi:10.1016/j.seares.2020.101928

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Predominant winds are southeasterly with an average velocity of 6.6 m/s, with increased wind speeds during July and August (Tchamabi et al 2017;Cristiano et al 2020). The mean sea temperature at FNA is 26°C (Ávila et al 2018;Figueiredo et al 2020) and mean salinity is around 36‰ (Assunção et al 2020;Santana et al 2020). The region is influenced by the central branch of the South Equatorial Current, which flows westward, and the Equatorial Undercurrent, flowing in the opposite direction (Stramma 1991).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sightings trends and behaviour of manta rays in Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Brazil

Bucair¹,

Venables

Balboni³

et al. 2021

Mar Biodivers Rec

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Despite substantial progress in mobulid research over the past decade, knowledge gaps in manta ray ecology and behaviour remain, particularly in the South Atlantic Ocean. Opportunistic photographic and video records of manta rays collected between 2002 and 2019 at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (FNA) in northeast Brazil provide evidence to support the year-round use of the region by manta rays (believed to be Mobula cf. birostris). From a total of 130 sighting records, manta rays exhibited feeding behaviour in 36.9% (n = 48) of sightings, indicating that the shallow waters surrounding the archipelago are used as feeding grounds. Approximately half of the records (53.8%) corresponded to identified individuals that were re-sighted repeatedly, using the area in different seasons and for several years. Of the compiled records, 69.2% of sightings were of small individuals (≤3 m disc width). All identified males had undeveloped claspers and females had no visible mating scars, suggesting a juvenile population. Despite being limited to a small local sample, here we present the first report of manta rays at FNA and provide preliminary evidence of feeding behaviour by juvenile manta rays in Brazil. This information contributes to our understanding of the regional distribution and habitat use of manta rays in Brazilian waters.

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