Population biology and diet of the southern kingcroaker Menticirrhus americanus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Perciformes: Sciaenidae) in Caraguatatuba Bay, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

trawling in two previously selected areas. The northern area is more exposed to wave activity and is influenced by a river, functioning as a small estuary. In contrast, the southern area is relatively sheltered from wave energy and influenced to a lesser degree by smaller rivers. The fishes' length was measured, and the sex and gonadal stage macroscopically identified. The abundance of this species was compared between areas and among months. The diet was identified and quantified. M. americanus occurred in equal proportions in the two study areas, being most abundant in April 2004, followed by December 2003 and January 2004. The population was dominated by small immature individuals. The few individuals in maturation or mature that were captured showed no seasonal pattern of distribution. This species had a varied diet, feeding on worms (nemerteans, sipunculans and echiurans), mollusks (bivalves and cephalopods), polychaetes, crustaceans and fish. The presence of intact nematodes in the intestine suggests that these are parasites. The results demonstrated that M. americanus has a homogeneous spatial and temporal distribution in Caraguatatuba Bay, being uniformly distributed between the south and north areas as well as across the months. This species can be considered a carnivorous predator, showing a preference for consuming benthic sandy-beach species such as glycerids and other polychaetes, crustaceans, and bivalve siphons. R E S U M OEste estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a distribuição espaço-temporal, biologia populacional e dieta de Menticirrhus americanus da baía de Caraguatatuba. Foram realizadas coletas mensais entre agosto de 2003 a outubro de 2004, utilizando redes de arrasto em duas áreas previamente selecionadas. A área norte é mais expostas à atividade de onda e é influenciada por um rio, constituindo um pequeno estuário. Por outro lado, a área sul é relativamente protegida da energia das ondas e sofre pouca influência dos rios. Os indivíduos coletados foram medidos e identificados macroscopicamente quanto ao sexo e o estádio gonadal. A abundância da espécie foi comparada entre as áreas e entre os meses de coleta. Para a dieta os itens alimentares encontrados foram identificados e quantificados. M. americanus apresentou proporções equivalentes nas duas áreas de estudo, sendo mais abundante em abril de 2004, seguido por dezembro de 2003 e janeiro de 2004. A população região é composta por indivíduos imaturos, e os poucos indivíduos maduros ou em maturação capturados não apresentaram padrão de distribuição ao longo do ano. A espécie mostrou uma dieta variada, alimentando-se de vermes (nemertideos, sipúnculos e equiúros), moluscos (bivalves e cefalópodes), poliquetas, crustáceos e peixes. A presença de nematóides intactos na porção do intestino sugere uma relação parasitária. Os resultados demonstraram que os indivíduos de Menticirrhus americanus estiveram uniformemente distribuídos nas áreas norte e sul e também ao longo do ano. A espécie pode ser considerada predadora e carnívora, mostrando preferê...

A review of estuarine fish research in South America: what has been achieved and what is the future for sustainability and conservation?

“…Although research has taken place in a number of systems from Sao Paulo northwards to Bahía, this has been somewhat piecemeal and there have been no comprehensive studies of the fish faunas. There have been studies of the population dynamics and diets of C. spixii and the southern kingcroaker Menticirrhus americanus (L. 1758) in the Caraguatatuba system (Turra et al ., ; Denadai et al ., ), detailed ichthyoplankton work in the Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro areas (Bonecker et al ., ; Castro et al ., ), further north, detailed studies of the food webs in the Paraibo do Sul Estuary (RJ) (Di Beneditto et al ., ; Kehrig et al ., ) and studies of the ichthyoplankton communities in the Baia de Vitoria Estuary (Espirito Santo) (Joyeux et al ., ) and in the Mucuri Estuary (Bahía) (Bonecker et al ., ), where Gomes et al . () also studied the structure and seasonal dynamics of larval Gobiidae for nine consecutive years.…”

Biological and ecological aspects of Bathygobius soporator (Valenciennes, 1837) (Perciformes, Gobiidae) from Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil

“…Besides, the organic matter, crustaceans and polychaetes alternated in importance between the periods in the species' diet. The presence of organic matter in the stomach contents may be due to a constant habit of foraging and prolonged activity (Hahn et al, 1999;Soares et al, 2016), while crustaceans and polychaetes are recurrent and important items in the diet of demersal fish (Turra et al, 2012). However, our study is the first to report the presence of polychaetes in the stomachs of the B. soporator, despite being a frequent item in other gobies (Køie et al, 2004).…”

Feeding habits of Macrodon ancylodon (Actinopterygii, Sciaenidae) in northeast, Brazil

“…The presence of fishes and principally crustaceans in the stomach contents of Sciaenidae fishes is relatively common, as found in several studies, for instance of Bairdiella ronchus in south coast of Brazil (Vendel & Chaves 1998), Stellifer rastrifer in south coast of Brazil (Chaves & Vendel 2008), Micropogonias furnieri in Venezuela (Ruiz et al 2001), Isopisthus parvipinnis, Larimus breviceps in south-western Atlantic (Soares & Vazzoler 2001) and Menticirrhus americanus in southeastern Brazil (Turra et al 2012). …”