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Nursery Habitat Shifts in an Estuarine Ecosystem: Patterns of Use by Sympatric Catfish Species

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Abstract

The seasonal and spatial distribution (density and biomass) of five size classes of two catfish species (Cathorops spixii and Cathorops agassizii) were studied along an estuarine ecocline to test the relative importance of the nursery function of each habitat. Seasonal vs. area interactions were significant for all size classes of both species. During the early rainy season, the middle estuary is an important nursery habitat for juveniles of both species. When environmental conditions change during the late rainy season, the C. spixii primary nursery habitat shifts to the lower estuary. During this period, juveniles of C. agassizii remain in the middle estuary. Another important ecological area is the upper estuary, which becomes a breeding, spawning and hatchery area during the late dry season for both species. The nursery function of habitats shifts according to the seasonal fluctuation of salinity and dissolved oxygen, and each species responds differently to this change.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the financial support of FACEPE (APQ-0586-1.08/06), CNPq (37384/2004-7, 474736/2004 and 482921/2007-2) and CNPq/CT-Hidro (552896/2007-1). MB and MFC are CNPq fellows.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecologia e Gerenciamento de Ecossistemas Costeiros e Estuarinos, Dept. Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 50740-550

    David Valença Dantas, Mario Barletta, André Ricardo Araújo Lima, Jonas de Assis Almeida Ramos & Monica Ferreira da Costa

  2. Instituto de Ecologia e Gerenciamento de Ecossistemas Aquáticos (IEGEA), P.O. Box: 8132, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 51020-970

    David Valença Dantas, Mario Barletta, Monica Ferreira da Costa & Ulrich Saint-Paul

  3. Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstr. 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Ulrich Saint-Paul

Authors
  1. David Valença Dantas
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  2. Mario Barletta
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  3. André Ricardo Araújo Lima
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  4. Jonas de Assis Almeida Ramos
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  5. Monica Ferreira da Costa
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  6. Ulrich Saint-Paul
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Correspondence to Mario Barletta.

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Dantas, D.V., Barletta, M., Araújo Lima, A.R. et al. Nursery Habitat Shifts in an Estuarine Ecosystem: Patterns of Use by Sympatric Catfish Species. Estuaries and Coasts 35, 587–602 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-011-9452-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-011-9452-0

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