ABSTRACT Parasites are important components of communities and constitute great part of the biological diversity found in ecosystems, providing valuable information about their hosts and the environment in which they live. However, despite its importance, parasitic diversity is still not well known in some regions of Brazil, especially with respect to fish parasites in the Northeast Region. The present study aims to perform the survey of gill parasites of fish from two tropical estuaries located in northeastern Brazil: Paraíba and Mamanguape rivers. Two collections were made in each estuary, one during the dry period (November / 2013) and the other during the rainy season (July / 2014). The fish were caught using a beach seine net, dragged along the main channel margin. After the identification, biometry and necropsy of the fish, their parasites were collected, stored and identified. For each species of parasite, the values of prevalence, mean intensity and mean abundance were calculated. Of the 882 examined fish, belonging to four species, 145 were parasitized by at least one species of parasite. In total, 18 taxa of parasites of the groups Monogenea, Digenea, Nematoda, Copepoda and Isopoda were recorded, being the copepod Acusicola brasiliensis the most abundant species of parasite.

A laguna de Barra do Saí, litoral norte de Santa Catarina, foi estudada para avaliar o papel desse estuário no ciclo de vida de peixes da zona costeira. Arrastos de praia foram realizados, e dados abióticos e de biometria foram obtidos, de dezembro de 2000 a novembro de 2001. No verão, quando a temperatura da água se eleva, diminuem os valores de salinidade e aumentam os de turbidez. A influência fluvial é corroborada pela ocorrência de espécies dulceaqüícolas, embora a maioria das 43 espécies registradas na laguna seja marinha. É também nesta época que aumenta a abundância de peixes jovens. O sistema não se notabiliza por acolher indivíduos em desova: face à baixa profundidade, ele é habitado essencialmente pelos jovens, que possivelmente ingressam em movimentos ativos ou em deslocamento passivo, provenientes do mar e rio adjacentes. Demonstra-se que um estuário pequeno, raso e em fundo cego pode ter um importante papel nas fases iniciais do ciclo de vida de peixes costeiros, independentemente de ser utilizado por indivíduos adultos em reprodução.

Studies were carried out at the Barra do Saí lagoon, on the northern coast of Santa Catarina State, Brazil, to evaluate the function played by this estuary in the life cycle of fish found at the coastal zone. Samplings were performed using beach seine net from December 2000 to November 2001. The continental influence is strong, as showed by the occurrence of freshwater fishes, although most of the 43 species recorded are marine ones. It was verified that around summer, when the temperature of the water is high, the values of salinity decrease and those of turbidity increase. At this time there is also an increase in the abundance of juvenile fish in the lagoon. Because of its average depth of less than 0.7 m, the lagoon is inhabited primarily by juveniles, which may enter either by active movement or passive displacement, originating from the sea or the river to which the lagoon is connected. The lagoon is not used for sheltering spawning individuals. It is showed that a shallow, small estuary with a blind bottom can conceal an importance for the coastal ichthyofauna that is greater than it could be expected from the occurrence - in this case, modest - of large individuals.