Demersal fish community on the inner shelf of Ubatuba, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Fluctuations in the distribution and abundance of demersal fishes collected by otter trawl on the continental shelf of Ubatuba were examined over a two-year sampling period, in an area up to 50 m depth. A total of 111 species were collected. Seasonal and annual fluctuations in species abundance were related to differences in the distribution of Coastal Water and South Atlantic Central Water masses. The demersal fish fauna in the area was divided into three ecologically distinct communities: Tropical Sciaenid, Subtropical Sciaenid, and Gerreid-Haemulid. The most important one is the Tropical Sciaenid Community, characterized by Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus, Paralonchurus brasiliensis, and Cynoscion jamaicensis.A distribuição e a abundância de peixes demersais na plataforma continental de Ubatuba, até 50 m de profundidade, foram examinadas durante dois anos. Foram coletadas 111 espécies. As flutuações sazonais de abund-ncia estiveram relacionadas com a din-mica das massas d'água. Três comunidades ocupam a área:. Sciaenidae Tropical, Sciaenidae Subtropical e Gerreidae-Haemulidae, sendo a primeira a mais importante, dominada por Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus, Paralonchurus brasiliensis e Cynoscion jamaicensis.

Keywords

• Sciaenidae
• Peixes demersais
• Comunidades
• Sciaenidae
• Demersal fish
• Community
• Southwestern Atlantic