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Habitat use by Dasyatis americana in a south-western Atlantic oceanic island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2009

Aline A. Aguiar ,
Jean L. Valentin  and
Ricardo S. Rosa
Aline A. Aguiar*
Affiliation:
PPGE-UFRJ, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Jean L. Valentin
Affiliation:
Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Ricardo S. Rosa
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ictiologia, Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 58059-900 João Pessoa, PB, Brasil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A.A. Aguiar, PPGE-UFRJ, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil email: a_a_aguiar@yahoo.com.br
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Abstract

The present work aims to determine and analyse the distribution of individuals of different size-classes of the southern stingray, Dasyatis americana, in distinct habitats at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. The stingrays were visually sampled, quantified and described according to a standard protocol through intensive search method during direct observations. The relationships among individuals of various disc length (DL) classes and their habitat features were described by the correspondence analysis. A total of 356 individuals were sampled. Individuals between 15 and 35 cm DL were observed mostly at the beaches while the greater DLs were strongly related to reef environments. This distribution reflects a tendency of the younger stingrays to occupy the shallow beach areas, while larger individuals move to deeper waters with reef characteristics during the ontogeny.

Keywords

southern stingrayecologyconservationspatial distributionBrazil
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 89 , Issue 6 , September 2009 , pp. 1147 - 1152
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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