Data used in this study are from a monitoring program conducted in the Saco dos Limões cove, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. In this program, fish fauna were collected in 17 surveys from July 1999 to April 2001. For this study, 3820 individuals of Centengraulis edentulus Cuvier, 1828 were examined regarding population and reproductive parameters, such as, length at sexual maturity (118 mm for the combined sexes, 112 mm for males and 118 mm for females), frequency distributions for total length, length-weight relationship (Wt = 0,0000003 x Lt 3,67º8), sex ratio, seasonal variation of the gonad maturation stages, gonadosomatic index, condition factor, somatic condition factor, reproductive cycle and timing of spawning. Ichthyoplankton samples were also examined in order to verify the sharing of this species in such samples. It was determined correlations between biological and environmental parameters, such as, surface and bottom temperature, and salinity in the water column. The results revealed that Centengraulis edentulus is strategically fitted to the environmental and biological conditions found in this area, which is used during its life cycle for reproduction, feeding and growing.
Anchovy; eggs and larvae; first maturation; Southern Brazil
