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Effects of environmental factors on ichthyoplankton in a permanently open estuary under the influence of a semi-arid climate, north-eastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2022

Lidiane Gomes de Lima
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, 23897-030 Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Gitá Juan Soterorudá Brito
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, 58429-500 Campina Grande, PB, Brazil
André Luiz Machado Pessanha*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, 58429-500 Campina Grande, PB, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: André Luiz Machado Pessanha, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Estuarine ecosystem conditions actively influence the early life stage of fishes. This study reports how environmental factors influenced the ichthyoplankton in a tropical estuary within an Environmental Protection Area by comparing the structure and composition of fish eggs and larval assemblages. A total of 1672 fish larvae and 486 fish eggs were collected. Higher densities of larvae were recorded for Engraulidae, Characidae, Clupeidae, Gerreidae, Mugilidae and Atherinopsidae, and higher egg densities of the families Mugilidae, Clupeidae and Engraulidae were found. The spatio-temporal variations were determined by the environmental predictors salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature, with salinity influenced by precipitation as one of the main predictors of the distribution of ichthyoplankton. During the rainy season, greater densities of eggs were recorded in the upper and intermediate zones, mainly Characidae and Engraulidae; in the dry season, in the lower zone, there was a greater density of larvae, particularly Atherinopsidae and Mugilidae. The information provided in the present study contributes to our knowledge of nursery habitat requirements for the initial development of marine migrant and resident species in tropical estuaries.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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