Abstract

The estuarine organisms present limitations in their distribution due to tolerance factors as salinity, sediment type, water temperature, among others. Kalliapseudes schubarti is common in estuaries and slimy plains of the Brazilian south and southeast regions, where it plays an important role in the food chain. Recently, this species was found in areas where its distribution was unknown, as in the county of Guarapari, state of Espírito Santo (ES), Brazil. This occurrence may be suggesting that K. schubarti presents a wider distribution than the expected. Based in this found, by means of ecological niche modeling, we determine its potential distribution, using climatic variables. The first scenario, without ES data, showed that K. schubarti presents distribution from state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) to the state of Rio de Janeiro. The second scenario, using the ES data, showed that its distribution ranges from RS to the south of state of Bahia (BA). We suggest the Brazilian coast temperatures are not a limitation factor for this species, which occurs in estuarine regions of soft bed rich in organic substance. This sediment, common in the some regions of ES and BA, should be the main factor for the K. schubarti occurrence.

Keywords:Estuaries; Geographical distribution; Bioclimatic parameters; Genetic algorithms; Brazillian coast