Biologia reprodutiva do mercador, Anisotremus virginicus (Linnaeus, 1758), capturado no litoral Norte do Estado de Pernambuco

Abstract

Species from the Haemulide family are amongst the most abundant fishes on coral reefs, representing an important component of the artisanal fisheries in the northest coast of Pernambuco State. Nevertheless, the biology of several species is poorly known, and so the present work aims at generating information on the reproductive biology (sex ratio, size at maturity, spawning season and fecundity) of Anisotremus virginicus. A total of 449 specimens were analyzed, 230 (51.2%) male and 219 (48.8%)female, resulting in a sex ratio of 1.05 males to 1 female. The fork length ranged from 12.1 to 28.0 cm (mean ± S.E. 19,4 ± 0.2 cm FL) in males, whereas the total weight (TW) ranged from 55.65 to 512.50 g (mean ± S.E. 197.88 ± 5.1). Females length ranged from 11.6 to 28.0 cm FL (mean ± S.E. 19.3 ± 0.1) and weight ranged from 40.63 to 451.0 (mean ± S.E. 198.6 ± 4.6). Length-weight relationships between sex were not significantly different (Mann-Whitney U-test, nmale = 230, nfemale = 219, P>0.05). Size at first maturity was estimated at 17.9 and 17.8 cm FL for females and males, respectively. Spawning activity was observed all year-round, but A. virginicus presented a higher reproduction activity from October to February (spring and summer). Fecundity (F)ranged from 20.496 to 338.803 oocytes, with a mean of 123.348 eggs/gonad. The oocyte development was asynchronous and characterized by the presence of all stages of oocytes development.