Open AccessSEASONAL EVALUATION OF THE CONDITION FACTOR IN A SURF-ZONE ASSEMBLAGE FROM SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL
Author(s) -
Eidi Kikuchi,
Fernando Rafael De Grande,
Teodoro Vaske Júnior
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
boletim do instituto de pesca
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.262
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1678-2305
pISSN - 0046-9939
DOI - 10.20950/1678-2305.2019.45.3.453
Subject(s) - juvenile fish , surf zone , mugil , demersal zone , seasonality , demersal fish , biology , fishery , pelagic zone , ecology , juvenile , fish <actinopterygii>
The surf zone is a highly dynamic environment subject to seasonal fluctuations which could impose restrictions to the development of juvenile fish. The allometric condition factor index (K) provides a value of ‘well-being’ for fish, been used to compare populations under different environmental conditions. The aim of this study concerned on evaluate the effect of seasonality on surf-zone juvenile fish’ K. Along two years the K values of the main fish species were analyzed. The temperature and abundance were also reported. We compared data between cold and hot seasons to test the effect of seasonality. A total of 955 individuals were collected, totaling 20 species. Despite the surf zone instability, most fish species showed a stable K regardless of season. We found that the condition factor in neritic Atherinella blackburni, Mugil brevirostris, Trachinotus carolinus and Trachinotus goodei did not vary. Only a demersal species, Menticirrhus littoralis, shown the lowest condition factor in the hot season, coinciding with maximum water temperature. We discussed how the surf zone provides conditions for the development of fish and reinforce the importance of this environment as a breeding site.