PLAYA-CHIPANA (21-DEGREES-19'S, 70-DEGREES-04'W) - A NURSERY AND SMELTING AREA FOR MARINE COASTAL FISH IN NORTHERN CHILE

Nursery conditions for rocky and sandy shore fish species were analyse d on an area of exposed beach in northern Chile, associated with upwel ling. The zone is inhabited by 31 species, including 9 residents, 9 se asonal visitors and 13 occasional visitors. 40 372 specimens were anal yzed, with the highest abundances (45.6 % of numerical abundance and 2 6.2 % of total biomass) during the autumn. The following species were determined as typical: Austromenidia regia (Atherinidae), Menticirrhus ophicephalus, Sciaena deliciosa (Sciaenidae), Ethmidium maculatum and Sardinops sagax (Clupeidae), which generally represented more than 80 % of the abundance of the area. 71 % of the fish species found were r epresented as juveniles.