Resumo

VILLARROEL, José; ACOSTA, Vanessa  e  ARRIECHE, Dwight. Physiological condition of an Arca zebra (Bivalvia: Arcidae) population from Chacopata, Sucre, Venezuela. Rev. biol. trop [online]. 2016, vol.64, n.3, pp.1345-1352. ISSN 0034-7744.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v64i3.18424.

Condition indices reflect the performance of an organism in their environment, as well as their somatic condition, nutritional value, commercial importance, the ecological role and fattening periods. In this study, different physiological indices were evaluated in order to know the Arca zebra population status, and to suggest operation and sustainability strategies for this resource use and consumption. A total of 240 samples (82 males and 158 females) were collected between July 2010 and July 2011, from the Chacopata bank site. Bivalve biometric measurements were made monthly and considered: total shell length, height and width; besides, soft tissues were dehydrated to obtain total dry mass. Different condition indices were analyzed based on the body mass, or on the combination of mass and shell length: gonadal index, muscle index, meat yield, the fresh mass of soft tissue in relation to the total length, and dry mass of soft tissue relative to the total length. We found the model with positive allometric growth between the length-total dry mass. The gonadal weight exerted a marked influence on the condition index, gonadosomatic index and meat yield. Increases in soft tissue mass were proportional to the dimensions of the shell. The index contrasts fresh mass of soft tissue in relation to the total length, as a tool that would allow fishers to estimate the population dynamics of A. zebra, and to practice a sustainable fishery over time, while keeping the extraction canons. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (3): 1345-1352. Epub 2016 September 01.

Palavras-chave : condition index; population dynamics; spawning; energy storage.

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