Crecimiento y condición de la Pacora Plagioscion magdalenae en la ciénaga de Ayapel, Colombia

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.7052317111

• Palavras-chave: Relación longitud-peso, Estado de bienestar, Tensores ambientales, Seguridad alimentaria.

• Keywords: Length-weight relationship, Welfare state, Environmental stressors, Food security.

• Abstract: The growth and condition of the Pacora Plagioscion magdalenae (STEINDACHNER, 1878) was evaluated during several annual cycles in the Cienaga de Ayapel, San Jorge river basin, Colombia. 824 specimens were collected in the period 2006-2010 and the length-weight relationship and the condition factor were estimated with the equations WT =kSLb and k =WT/SLb, respectively. 524 female and 300 male individuals were found, whose sizes ranged between 15.0-55.0 cm standard length (SL), with mean catch length of 27.7 cm SL, while the total weight ranged between 58.0-3764.0 grams (g) and the mean catch weight was 483.5 g. Sexual dimorphism in size was observed, since females are larger than males and the estimated mean catch length is lower than the minimum legal length established for the Magdalena basin, which suggests a serious problem of overfishing on the species under study. The estimated length-weight relationship was TW =0.009 (± 0.05) SL3.22 (± 0.04), r =0.99, n =824, the condition factor, or Welfare state, is 8.5 times greater in high waters than in low waters, which indicates that the species under study responds to the greater availability of both autochthonous and allochthonous food at that time of the hydrological cycle, although this factor is lower than most of those reported for the genus Plagioscion in South America; while the growth coefficient is positive allometric and -at the same time- greater than 90% of all those reported, which suggests food problems associated with the anthropic effects present in the San Jorge basin, added to other environmental factors or stressors.