Lima, Sergio Maia QueirozBennemann, Ana Beatriz Alves2019-12-162022-05-252019-12-162022-05-252019-11-01BENNEMANN, Ana Beatriz Alves. Dieta do peixe-anfíbio Kryptolebias hermaphroditus Costa, 2011 (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) em manguezais do Rio Grande do Norte, nordeste do Brasil. 2019. 33 f. Monografia (Graduação em Ciências Biológicas) – Centro de Biociências. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 2019.https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/47314One of the most curious groups of fish are the mangrove killifish of the Kryptolebias hermaphroditus group. Besides being the only known self-fertilizing vertebrates, they have an amphibious habit with high tolerance to hypoxia, skin breathing capacity, and long periods of desiccation. Because of its clonal reproduction, this species arouses interest in areas such as environmental genomics and molecular carcinogenesis, as it offers advantages for its use in pharmacology and toxicology bioassays, since it generates offsprings with little genetic variation. Although there is a lot of information available about K. marmoratus, which occurs in the Caribbean and Florida mangroves, almost nothing is known about the K. hermaphroditus ecology from Brazilian mangroves. Therefore, the aim of this study is to unveil a part of the food ecology of this species, comparing seasonally and ontogenetically the items found in their diet, with emphasis on the exploration of the autochthonous and allochthonous items. 140 stomachs of individuals collected from mangroves of Rio Grande do Norte state (from the Ceará-Mirim and Curimataú rivers) were analyzed, 70 from drought season and 70 from rainy season. We calculated the relative importance of each item (by numerical, occurrence, and volumetric frequency) during drought and rainy, the diets of juvenile and adult states were also compared. Thirteen different items comprehend the diet of K. hermaphroditus. Items of plant origin, mollusks, crustaceans, microcrustaceans, insect larvae, and adult insects were observed. The results show that in the rainy season, the items were more varied and presented a larger volume compared to the drought. Regarding the ontogenetic variation, young individuals consumed items of smaller volume, while adults, besides consuming items of larger volume, obtained a greater variety of items. The diet of K. hermaphroditus is similar to that of K. marmoratus, with predominance of autochthonous items, but without cannibalism or predation of other fish, which happened in the sister species. It was observed that the consumption of autochthonous and allochthonous items do not overlap much, when allochthonous items are consumed, the number of autochthonous items consumed per individual decreases. Although items of autochthon origin are important in both seasons, allochthonous items may play an important role in ecosystem nutrient replacement.Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Brazilhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/br/OntogeniaSazonalidadePeixes estuarinosEcologia alimentarbachelorThesisEcologia aplicada