Regresar

Growth and size distribution of Donax denticulatus (Mollusca: Donacidae) in playa brava, Peninsula de Araya, Sucre State, Venezuela

Abstract:

Donax denticulatus is a dominant member of the sandy beach communities of the Venezuelan Caribbean coast. Growth and size distribution of intertidal population was analyzed monthly between October 2000 and June 2001 in Playa Brava, Chacopata, Venezuela. The samples were made on perpendicular transepts to coastal line. The length distribution was stable during the experimental period and constituted fundamentally by adult bivalves with scarce recruitment (20-26 mm). The mean density was 33.13 ± 6.35 ind.m-2 and did not change significantly with time. Length-weight relationship was significant (r2 > 0.60). The growth parameters of von Bertalanffy function were L∞ = 31.47 mm, K = 1.48 year-1 and to = 0.5 year -1, indicating that Playa Brava is a population with high growth rate and a longevity of 18 months. Mortality (Z) estimated for larger individuals (> 22 mm) was also high (2.93 year-1). Due to inexistence of bivalve bank exploitation, the mortality was assumed as natural.