Abstract
This study aimed to describe the growth parameters of Anchoa tricolor in a subtropical estuary. From August 2010 to July 2011, 10.009 specimens of the anchovy Anchoa tricolor, mean total length 4.2 cm (±1.45), were captured in the intertidal region of the Estuarine Complex of Paranaguá (25º 15' - 25° 35' S and 48° 20' - 48° 45' W). Species´s weight/length relationship for grouped genders was described as follow: W = 0.0000591.Lt3.282 (length in centimeters; weight in grams) showing a positive allometric growth pattern (b>3; P=0.000). Significant differences concerning weight/length relationship for males, females and unsexed individuals were identified. Parameters of the length to age growth curve were estimated by adjusting a von Bertalanffy growth equation from aged individuals from a length-frequency distribution: L∞ = 10.06 (1-e-17715(t + 0.205)) (length in centimeters, age in years). The age to attain 95% of the asymptotic length ( A95 ; longevity sensu Taylor) was estimated at 1.7 years. Size frequency distributions indicate that A. tricolor uses the estuarine area as reproductive and growing grounds, especially during the first year of the life cycle, where the species represent a key element for ecosystem functioning due to relatively high abundance and energy transference from plankton to top predators.
Highlights
The Engraulidae, commonly known as broadband anchovy (“manjuba” in Brazil), comprise a family of 16 genera and 139 species, all small marine or estuarine fish species distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters
A scatter plot of the weight/length relationship and respective residual distributions are available at Fig. 2
If analyzed the full dataset, the weight/length relationship of A. tricolor indicates an allometric growth pattern (b=3.282; SE=0.0088), different to results previously published by Vaz-dosSantos and Rossi-Wongtschowski (2013) (b=3.043; SE=0.046; n=218); by Franco et al 2013 (b= 3.016; SE=0.121; n= 13), both suggesting isometry (b≅3.0)
Summary
The Engraulidae, commonly known as broadband anchovy (“manjuba” in Brazil), comprise a family of 16 genera and 139 species, all small marine or estuarine fish species distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. The family constitutes a very important connection in marine food webs, feeding mainly on plankton and sustaining several top-level predators (Whitehead et al 1988). Species of the genus Anchoa are distributed in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. A summary of available data concerning growth parameters and longevity estimates for Anchoa is presented in Table I (Froese and Pauly 2016). SPACH and the asymptotic length (L∞) between 8.0 and 25.3 cm ( L∞ =13.3cm ). Maximum total length (TL) ranged between 7.5 and 24.0 cm (TL = 12.4cm ) and life span (tmax) between 1 and 13.3 years ( tmax = 2.4 years )
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