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Patterns of spatial distribution of five species of mojarras (Actinopterygii: Gerreidae) in a small tropical estuary in south-eastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2011

Taynara Pontes Franco ,
Leonardo Mitrano Neves ,
Tatiana Pires Teixeira  and
Francisco Gerson Araújo
Taynara Pontes Franco
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, IB/DBA, BR 465 Km 7, CEP 23.890-000 Seropédica, RJ, Brazil
Leonardo Mitrano Neves
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, IB/DBA, BR 465 Km 7, CEP 23.890-000 Seropédica, RJ, Brazil
Tatiana Pires Teixeira
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, IB/DBA, BR 465 Km 7, CEP 23.890-000 Seropédica, RJ, Brazil
Francisco Gerson Araújo*
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, IB/DBA, BR 465 Km 7, CEP 23.890-000 Seropédica, RJ, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F.G. Araújo, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes, IB/DBA, BR 465 Km 7, CEP 23.890-000 Seropédica, RJ, Brazil email: gerson@ufrrj.br
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Abstract

The spatial patterns of distribution of five species of the Gerreidae (Diapterus rhombeus, Eucinostomus argenteus, Eucinostomus gula, Eucinostomus melanopterus and Eugerres brasilianus) in Mambucaba estuary, south-eastern Brazil, were determined to assess habitat partitioning of the estuarine reaches. Sampling was conducted between October 2007 and August 2008. Diapterus rhombeus and E. gula were exclusively found in the lower estuary, whereas E. melanopterus and E. brasilianus were exclusively found from the middle estuary. Eucinostomus argenteus was common in the two estuarine zones. Total length and total weight data showed that the smallest individuals of D. rhombeus and E. gula were found near to the estuarine mouth compared with deeper areas of high salinity and lesser influence of the estuarine plume. The smallest individuals of E. argenteus, E. brasilianus and E. melanopterus were found in a protected estuarine lagoon connected to the main estuarine channel, and the largest in the other sites in the main channel of the middle estuary. Spatial partition seems to be the strategy developed by the 5 members of the Gerreidae family to coexist in the Mambucaba estuary, which may be attributed to competition in the past between the species of Gerreidae or to differentiated tolerance to environmental constraints

Keywords

habitat partitioningestuariescoastal fishenvironmental variablescoexistence
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 5 , August 2012 , pp. 1217 - 1225
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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