Larval fish in the surf zone of Pontal do Sul beach, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

A total of 6,575 larvae in the preflexion, flexion and post-flexion stages of 15 families, 26 genera and 29 species were captured in the surf zone of Pontal do Sul beach, Paraná, Brazil. Samples of the families Gerreidae and Scianidae predominated and larvae of Eucinostomus argenteus (Baird&Girard, 1854), Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823), Eucinostomus gula (Cuvier, 1830), Menticirrhus ameri-canus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Anchoa tricolor (Agassiz, 1829) were the most dominant species. Greater abundance of larvae was observed during the summer, followed by winter and in a less extent during spring and autumn. The number of species was greater in the summer, and there were no significant differences in the rest of the seasons.