Estratégia reprodutiva do peixe-voador, Hirundichthys affinis e dopeixe agulha preta, Hemiramphus brasiliensis no litoral de Caiçara doNorte, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

摘要

The flyingfish, Hirundichthys affinis (Günther, 1866) (Exocoetidae) and ballyhoo halfbeak, Hemiramphus brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hemiramphidae) are marine fish speciesof commercial value, which contribute to artisanal fishery production of Rio Grande do Norte,Brazil. Besides the economic importance, these fish are important from an ecological point ofview, being components in pelagic food chain, where they are the preferred prey of largerpredators of high commercial value. This study aimed to determine the reproductive strategiesof H. affinis and H. brasiliensis and the fishery production of H. affinis in the northern coastof Rio Grande do Norte. The results are presented in the form of six cientific articles and areview paper. The first article presents the morphometric measurements and meristic countswhich confirmed the taxonomic status, population structure in length-weight and the gonaddevelopment of H. affinis through macroscopic observations of the ovaries and testes.Females of this species were bigger and heavier than males. The second article describes thereproductive tactics, such as, sex ratio, length at first sexual maturity, histological aspects ofgonads, fecundity and spawning season, that indicate the reproductive strategy of H. affinis.The third article shows annual changes in the fishery production of H. affinis in Caiçara doNorte, during the period of 1993 to 2010, emphasizing the relevance of this fish in totalfishery production of Rio Grande do Norte, besides registering the fall in production in theyears 2008 to 2010. The fourth article describes the population structure, with respect to thelength and weight, the length-weight relationship, growth type and sex ratio of Hemiramphusbrasiliensis. The fifth article describes the reproductive biology of H. brasiliensis, with detailsabout sex ratio, length at first sexual maturity, fecundity, type of breeding and spawningseason. The sixth article deals with the reproductive strategy of H. brasiliensis. The reviewpaper presents the topic of age determination of tropical fish using analysis of otoliths. Bothspecies use the coastal waters of Caiçara do Norte for reproductive purposes. The flying fish,H. affinis migrates from the oceanic waters to the coastal waters to reproduce, coinciding withthe rainy season. H. affinis presents total spawning and a seasonal reproductive strategy.However, H. brasiliensis lives and reproduces in the coastal waters displaying partialspawning and an equilibrium reproductive strategy