Spatio-temporal variation of ichthyoplankton in estuarine beaches at the Babitonga bay, Santa Catarina, Brazil

• Main Authors: Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa, Henry Louis Spach, José Maria Souza-Conceição, Daliana Bordin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2013-06-01
• Series: Biotemas
• Subjects: Abundance; Estuary; Fish eggs; Fish larvae; Southern Brazil
• Online Access: http://www.biotemas.ufsc.br/volumes/pdf/volume262/129-141.pdf

In Brazil, estuarine beaches are poorly studied with regard to ichthyoplankton. In this context, from August 2005 to July 2006, monthly collections were conducted, using conical plankton net with 200μm mesh size and 40cm mouth diameter, at seven estuarine beaches in the polyhaline sector of Babitonga bay, Santa Catarina, Brazil. At each beach, data regarding temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll-a, and zooplankton volume were obtained. A total of 54,384 fish eggs and 10,576 fish larvae were collected, with a general mean abundance of 3,114 eggs.100m-3 and 607 larvae.100m-3. Higher abundance of eggs occurred from October to March and higher abundance of larvae occurred from October to December and between February and April. Among the beaches, higher abundance of eggs was recorded at the intermediate ones and higher abundance of larvae was recorded at the outermost ones (those closest to the estuary mouth). There was a predominance of larvae from the families Haemulidae, Engraulidae, Gobiidae, Sciaenidae, Blenniidae, Carangidae, and Sparidae, most of them found in the warmest period of the year. Analysis on the water column variables, chlorophyll-a, zooplankton volume and ichthyoplankton showed low correlations in the shallow habitats under study.