DIETA DO BAGRE ESTUARINO Cathorops arenatus (VALENCIENNES, 1840) NA ILHA DE MAIANDEUA, PARÁ, BRASIL

Cathorops arenatus (Siluriformes: Ariidae) inhabits shallow waters and is abundant in the North coast of Brazil. Despite its local use and susceptibility to overexploitation and pollution, basic biological information is lacking to shape conservation actions. Thus, information on the feeding of C. arenatus in the North coast of Brazil are provided herein. Specimens were sampled in one expedition during the rainy season and in another in the dry season, using horizontal trawling along a 10-m line. Food contents of 68 specimens were analyzed. They exhibited 13 food items and fed mainly on Haparcticoida copepods and plant fragments. A high number of specimens exhibited sediment in their digestive tract. No differences in the diet composition between hydrological seasons were observed. C. arenatus exhibit a benthivorous feeding habit in the Amazonian estuary, which agrees with other species of the genus, and no temporal variation in its diet was found, which may be related to the community dynamics of its main prey. Keywords: Amazon estuary, Ariidae, trophic ecology.