Habitat use by Dasyatis americana in a south-western Atlantic oceanic island

Abstract

The present work aims to determine and analyse the distribution of individuals of different size-classes of the southern stingray, Dasyatis americana, in distinct habitats at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. The stingrays were visually sampled, quantified and described according to a standard protocol through intensive search method during direct observations. The relationships among individuals of various disc length (DL) classes and their habitat features were described by the correspondence analysis. A total of 356 individuals were sampled. Individuals between 15 and 35 cm DL were observed mostly at the beaches while the greater DLs were strongly related to reef environments. This distribution reflects a tendency of the younger stingrays to occupy the shallow beach areas, while larger individuals move to deeper waters with reef characteristics during the ontogeny.