ÁREAS DE DISPERSÃO E BERÇÁRIO PARA LARVAS DE CURIMATIDAE (PISCES, CHARACIFORMES), NO TRECHO BAIXO DO RIO AMAZONAS, BRASIL

This study aims to analyse the spatio-temporal variation of Curimatidae larvae and the relation of the environmental variables in the abundance and larval distribution, as well as to verify the use of the low section of the Amazon River, as areas of natural breeding for these fish species, widely exploited in the region. The collections were carried out in the year 2013, at six sampling stations (restingas, ravines and coves) in areas surrounding the Marrecas island complex, near Santarém city, Para, Brazil. Analysis of variance was used to verify potential diferences of larval density between the stations, sampling months and development stages, and redundancy analysis (RDA) was further applied to verify the influence of environmental variables on individuals. A total of 3,140 Curimatidae were capturesand identified as Psectrogaster amazonica (63.66%), Potamorhina altamazonica (33.22%), P latior (0.67%) and Psectrogaster rutiloides (0.41%). The larvae were distributed differently along the sampling stations, with higher densities recorded in areas close to the restingas and ravines, but no significant difference was found between the analyzed habitats. As to temporal variation, the data indicated significant differences, with higher values of larval density in February. RDA showed that the rainfall index was the preponderant factor in the distribution of Curimatidae larvae. The results confirm the importance of marginal areas in low sections of the Amazonas River, as places of dispersion and colonization to these species during early development.