Resumo:
This study presents the composition of the ichthyofauna and the spatial and seasonal analysis of fish community structure in the Cabuçu (12º47’S-38º46”W – Saubara) and Berlinque beaches (13º06”S – 38º45’W – Vera Cruz) in the Todos os Santos Bay (13º S-38ºW), Bahia State, Brazil. Fishes were collected between July 2002 and July 2003, during low tide of the syzygial tides. Abiotic factors such as pH, temperature (water and air) and salinity were measured. The similarity among the sampling sites was analised by Cluster Analysis basead on presence-absence data matrix of species using the Sorensen coefficient. A total of 719 fishes and 2231,77 g were captured, comprising 29 families, 63 species at Cabuçu beach. The families Sciaenidae, Engraulidae, Carangidae and Gerreidae comprised 53,82% of number of caugth individuals. Lutjanus synagris, Larimus breviceps, Chaetodipterus faber e Sphoeroides testudineus were dominant. At Berlinque beach, a total of 381 fishes and 2605,64 g were captured, comprising 21 families and 40 species. Sciaenidae, Carangidae e Engraulidae comprised 48,55% of number of caugth individuals capturados Polydactylus virginicus, Ophioscion punctatissimus, Pomadasys corvaeniformes and Menticirrhus americanus were dominant. Community indexes do not indicate seasonal changes in the fish communities of the two beaches. ANOSIM and SIMPER routine of Primer demonstrate that the icthyofaunal composition of the two beaches differed markedly.
