Abstract
Marine catfishes use estuaries and bays as part of their life cycle for spawning and feeding purposes, respectively. We compared three species of the family Ariidae in two different environmental conditionsa relatively stable bay site and an estuarine site, which differ in their magnitudes of environmental fluctuation to investigate effects of spawning on condition. We found differences in the parameter b (slope) and in they-intercept (a) among species and sexes. The parameter a varied inversely with b, and thus is not a good indicator to express fish condition. Condition factor did not differ between the two sites for species and sexes when we consider the pooled data. Overall condition was associated with reproductive process, and was high before the reproductive season, decreasing during the spawning period in the estuary, then increasing when fish move to the bay (April–August). Temporal segregation in the reproductive period and small-scale movements between the estuary and the bay are the probable mechanisms to optimize the use of the area by the three species.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
AraÚjo, F. G. 1988. Relative abundance, distribution and sea-sons movements of the marine cat fishes (Siluriformes, Arii-dae)in the estuary of the Patos Lagoon, RG, Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Zool. 5: 509-543 (in Portuguese).
AraÚjo, F. G., A. L. M. Pessanha, M. C. C. Azevedo & I. D. Go-mes. 1998a. Relationships weight-length of marine cat fishes (Siluriformes, Ariidae)in the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Acta Biol. Leopoldensia 20: 289-298 (in Portuguese).
AraÚjo, F. G., I. D. Gomes, M. C. C. Azevedo & A. L. M. Pessa-nha. 1998b. Maturation and spawning of marine cat sh Genidens genidens, Valenciennes 1839 (Siluriformes, Ariidae) in the Sepetiba Bay, RJ, Brazil. Acta Biol. Leopoldensia 20: 109-122 (in Portuguese).
Azevedo, M. C. C., F. G. AraÚjo, A. G. Cruz-Filho, I. D. Gomes & A. L. M. Pessanha. 1999. Spatial and temporal variation of marine cat fishes on Sepetiba Bay, RJ. Rev. Brasil. Biol. 59: 443-454 (in Portuguese).
Barbieri, G. & J. R. Verani. 1987. The condition factor as an indicator of the spawning in Hypostomus aplecostomus (Linnaeus, 1758), at Monjolinho Reservoir (São Carlos, SP) (Osteichthyes, Loricariidae). Ciênciae Cultura 39: 655-658 (in Portuguese).
Barbieri, L. R., R. P. Santos & J. V. Andreata. 1992. Reproduc-tive biology of the marine cat sh, Genidens genidens (Siluri-formes, Ariidae), in the Jacarepagua Lagoon system, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Environ. Biol. Fish. 35: 23-35.
Bengtsson, A. 1993. Seasonal variation of mass, condition and gonadosomatic index in fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis)with normal and malformed vertebrae in the Gulf of Bothnia. J. Fish Biol. 42: 265-278.
Bolger, T. & P. L. Connolly. 1989. The selection of suitable indices for the measurement and analysis of fish condition. J. Fish Biol. 34: 171-182.
Braga, F. M. S. 1986. Study between condition factor and length/weight relation for some marine fishes. Rev. Brasil. Biol. 46: 339-346 (in Portuguese).
Dando, P. R. 1984. Reproduction in estuarine fish. pp. 155-170. In: G. W. Potts & R. J. Wootton (eds.), Fish Reproduction: Strategies and Tactics, Academic Press, London.
Godinho, A. L. 1997. Weight-length relation and condition of the characiform Triportheus guentheri. Environ. Biol. Fish. 50: 319-330.
Gomes, I. D., F. G. AraÚjo, M. C. C. Azevedo & A. L. M. Pessa-nha. 1999. Reproductive biology of the marine cat fishes Genidens genidens (Valenciennes)and Cathorops spixii (A-gassiz)(Siluriformes, Ariidae)in the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Zool. 16(Supp. 2): 171-180 (in Portuguese).
Gomes, I. D., F. G. AraÚjo, M. C. C. Azevedo & A. L. M. Pessa-nha. 2001. Maturity scale and spawning season of the three marine cat fishes (Siluriformes, Ariidae)in the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Comunicações do Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia, PUCRS, Série Zoológica 14: 3-21 (in Portu-guese).
Gunter, G. 1947. Observations on breeding on the marine cat fish Galeichthys felis (Linnaeus). Copeia 1947: 217-223.
Hall, C. A. 1972. Migration and metabolism in a temperature stream ecosystem. Ecology 53: 585-604.
Le Cren, E. D. 1951. The length-weight relationship and sea-sonal cycle in gonad weight and conditions in the perch Perca. uviatilis. J. Anim. Ecol. 20: 201-219.
Matthews, W. J. 1987. Physicochemical tolerance and selectivity of stream fish as related to their geographic ranges and local distributions. pp. 111-120 In: W. J. Matthews & D. C. Heins (eds.)Community and Evolutionary Ecology of North American Stream Fishes, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Matthews, W. J. 1998. Pattern in Freshwater Fish Ecology, Chapman & Hall, New York. 756 pp.
McLusky, D. (ed.)1989. The Estuarine Ecosystem, Chapman and Hall, New York. 215 pp.
Mittleblach, G. G. 1986. Predator-mediated habitat use: some consequences for species interactions. Environ. Biol. Fish. 16: 159-169.
Nikolsky, G. V. 1963. The Ecology of Fishes, Academic Press, London. 352 pp.
Patterson, K. R. 1992. An improved method for studying the condition of sh, with an example using Paci c sardine Sardinops sagax (Jenyns). J. Fish Biol. 40: 821-831.
Peckarsky, B. L. 1983. Biotic interactions or abiotic limitations? A model of lotic community structure. pp. 303-323. In: T. D.
Fontaine III & S. M. Bartelln (eds.)Dynamics of Lotic Eco-systems, Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor.
Ross, S. T., W. J. Matthews & A. A. Echelle. 1985. Persistence of stream fish assemblages: effects of environmental change. Am. Nat. 126: 22-40.
Vazzoler, A. E. A. deM. 1981. Manual and methods to biological studies of density of the fishes. Reproduction and age. Brasília, CNPq, National Zoology Programme. 108 pp (in Portuguese).
Vila-Gispert, A. & R. Moreno-Amich. 2000. Use of the con-dition of Mediterranean barbel (Barbus meridionalis)to as-sess habitat quality in stream ecosystems. Arch. Hydrobiol. 148: 135-145.
Vila-Gispert, A. & R. Moreno-Amich. 2001. Mass-length rela-tionship of Mediterranean barbel as an indicator of envi-ronmental status in South-west European stream ecosystems. J. Fish Biol. 59: 824-832.
Weisberg, S. (ed.)1985. Applied Linear Regression, John Wiley & Sons, New York. 324 pp.
Winters, G. H. & J. P. Wheeler. 1994. Length-specifc weight as a measure of growth success of adult Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51: 1169-1179.
Wootton, R. J. 1990. Ecology of Teleost Fishes, Chapman and Hall. 404 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gomes, I.D., Araújo, F.G. Influences of the reproductive cycle on condition of marine catfishes (Siluriformes, Ariidae) in a coastal area at southeastern Brazil. Environmental Biology of Fishes 71, 341–351 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-004-1265-6
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-004-1265-6