Composição ictiofaunística e estratégias reprodutivas de quatro espécies de peixes nativos da Bacia Hidrográfica Piranhas - Assu, Rio Grande do Norte

This study focuses on the fish fauna composition and reproductive strategies of four native fish species in relation to environmental variables of the Piranhas-Assu hydrographic basin of the Caatinga biome, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Fish and environmental data were collected monthly during the period September 2008 to February 2010, in the Marechal Dutra reservoir and River Acauã a tributary of Piranhas- Assu. The fish were measured, weighed and dissected, and the gonads were removed, weighed and examined macroscopically for identification and determination of gonad maturation stages. The results of this work generated seven articles. The first article is about the fish fauna composition of the Piranhas-Assu hydrographic basin, Rio Grande do Norte. The 602 fish samples captured were distributed in four orders (Characiformes, Perciformes, Siluriformes and Synbranchiformes), 11 families and 22 species, of which 17 are endemic to the Caatinga ecoregion. The order Characiformes was more representative followed by Perciformes, Siluriformes and Synbranchiformes. The second article is about the length-weight relationship and growth of seven native fish species Crenicichla menezesi, Cichlasoma orientale, Triportheus angulatus, Psectrogaster rhomboides, Pimelodella gracilis, Prochilodus brevis and Leporinus piau from a semiarid Brazilian reservoir. The third article is about the reproductive aspects of Crenicichla menezesi. Males were larger, heavier and with a slight predominance as compared to females. Four stages of gonadal development were characterized, being immature, maturing, mature and spent. The females reached sexual maturity earlier than males, with an average fecundity of 398 oocytes per batch. The spawning was partial with a long reproductive period. The fourth article deals with the reproductive strategy of Leporinus piau a neotropical freshwater fish in semi-arid region of Brazil. The population of L. piau (n = 211) showed a slight predominance of males (55%), with larger and heavier females. The males matured earlier than the females. This species presented total spawning, with an average fecundity of 55,000 mature oocytes. Rainfall and concentration of dissolved oxygen acted as influential factors during the spawning season. L. piau shows a seasonal reproductive strategy. The fifth article is related to the morphometric-meristic characteristics and reproductive aspects of freshwater sardine, Triportheus angulatus from River Acauã of the Caatinga biome. There was a predominance of larger females, reaching first maturation before males. There was total spawning during the rainy period of the region. The sixth article reports on the reproductive strategy of Psectrogaster rhomboides. The sex ratio was 1M: 1F, with negative allometric growth. Males reached sexual maturity earlier than females Females and males showed four stages of gonadal development and spawned during the rainy season. The fecundity was low and this species presented total spawning. The seventh article reports on the dynamics of territorial behavior of Crenicichla menezesi. Ten agonistic behaviors displayed by the males were observed: frontal and lateral threat, chasing, circular chasing, perpendicular, lateral and mouth attacks, escape, parallel positioning and stationary. The formation of four social groups was observed among males: without interaction; interaction with submission and escape; with frontal and lateral agonistic interactions. In social interactions between males and females, it was observed that the larger males interacted more among themselves and with the larger females. The large male established its territory and the two small males along with the small female were excluded from the other groups. These studies clarified the fish fauna composition and reproductive strategies of four native species Crenicichla menezesi, Leporinus piau, Triportheus angulatus and Psectrogaster rhomboides of the Piranhas- Assu hydrographic basin of the Caatinga biome, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

O trabalho docente em psicólogo e o enfrentamento da violência contra crianças e adolescentes: uma experiência teresinense

In this thesis I discuss the role of the psychologist as a university professor and as intellectual from a specific context and also from a specific query. The context is the city of Teresina, capital city of Piauí state, which is peripheral in Brazil s northeast region. The defiance here is to build a critical psychological tradition that will deal with the challenges imposed by the reality of poverty and socio-economic backwardness of the region. The greatest difficulty is the lack of a public institution of learning that carries out instruction, research and extension with commitment to social transformation, and with the production of a psychological knowledge that is able to understand local reality. I take it that the undergraduate course in Psychology at UESPI [State University of Piauí] is the only one in Teresina that can take over such mission. The query is confronting violence against children and adolescents that defies us to ethically and politically commit to solidarity toward fragile human beings in need of adult involvement in order to survive this daily inhumanity. The involvement of psychologists from Teresina in this must result from a social commitment and a technical competence to deal with prevention and therapeutic consideration toward the victims. This dissertation is divided into three parts: the first is a study on the curriculum and the performance of psychologists, which revises the academic output in Brazil and envisages new queries to the theme, such as the role of teaching inside the curriculum, and presents social security (including Medicare) as the privileged field in which Brazilian psychologists perform. The second part contains a study on the concepts of childhood, adolescence and violence, which presents a consideration on the strategies to confront violence against children and adolescents. In the last part I discuss the role of the psychologist as teacher and intellectual in the context undergraduate course in Psychology at UESPI [State University of Piauí] from the commitment to the protection of children and adolescents

O trabalho docente em psicólogo e o enfrentamento da violência contra crianças e adolescentes: uma experiência teresinense

In this thesis I discuss the role of the psychologist as a university professor and as intellectual from a specific context and also from a specific query. The context is the city of Teresina, capital city of Piauí state, which is peripheral in Brazil s northeast region. The defiance here is to build a critical psychological tradition that will deal with the challenges imposed by the reality of poverty and socio-economic backwardness of the region. The greatest difficulty is the lack of a public institution of learning that carries out instruction, research and extension with commitment to social transformation, and with the production of a psychological knowledge that is able to understand local reality. I take it that the undergraduate course in Psychology at UESPI [State University of Piauí] is the only one in Teresina that can take over such mission. The query is confronting violence against children and adolescents that defies us to ethically and politically commit to solidarity toward fragile human beings in need of adult involvement in order to survive this daily inhumanity. The involvement of psychologists from Teresina in this must result from a social commitment and a technical competence to deal with prevention and therapeutic consideration toward the victims. This dissertation is divided into three parts: the first is a study on the curriculum and the performance of psychologists, which revises the academic output in Brazil and envisages new queries to the theme, such as the role of teaching inside the curriculum, and presents social security (including Medicare) as the privileged field in which Brazilian psychologists perform. The second part contains a study on the concepts of childhood, adolescence and violence, which presents a consideration on the strategies to confront violence against children and adolescents. In the last part I discuss the role of the psychologist as teacher and intellectual in the context undergraduate course in Psychology at UESPI [State University of Piauí] from the commitment to the protection of children and adolescents

Diversidade de Seirini (Collembola, Arthropleona, Entomobryidae), em áreas úmidas da caatinga

The family Entomobryidae is one of the most diverse families of Collembola in Northeast Brazil. Data on its diversity may be considered undervalued due to low collection efforts in the region. In this study, five areas in the Northeast region were sampled, to evaluate the species richness of this family. The study was done in the Serra da Jibóia, Santa Terezinha municipality, Bahia; Serra das Confusões, Caracol municipality, Piauí; Chapada do Araripe, Crato municipality, Ceará; Mata do Pau-Ferro, Areia municipality, Paraíba and Parque Nacional de Ubajara, Ubajara municipality, Ceará, all considered humid areas of Caatinga. Collections were made using pitfall traps and entomological aspirators. All the collected material was screened, mounted on slides, identified and, finally, the descriptions of some of the new species encountered were made. A total of 48 Entomobryidae species belonging to nine genera were recorded and 27 of these were new to science, representing a percentage of 56.25% of the total. A new record for Brazil was identified and several new records were made to the States. Seira was the genus with wider distribution and it was the only one found in all areas and the most representative with the highest number of recorded species (26). This result was expected, because individuals of the genus Seira have a good adaptability to semi-arid environments, a fact that has already been proven in previous research. Seven new species of Seira were described. A dichotomous key to genera and species of Seirini from Brazil was drafted. This work demonstrates the great potential of Entomobryidae and Seirini in the Northeast, despite having been held in very restricted areas, obtained important results for the knowledge of fauna of the group

Diversidade de paronellidae (collembola, arthropleona, entomobryoidea) no nordeste brasileiro, com ênfase em áreas úmidas da caatinga

Paronellidae is among the most diverse and distinctive components of epiedaphic Collembola in tropical countries. However, only 15 species of the family were recorded in Brazil, and only two of them were record in northeast region of the country. This condiction is clearly related to low sampling efforts and lack of specialists working with the group. Due to this reality, this work aimed to study the Paronellidae fauna, under a taxonomic point of view, in six distinct environments in Northeastern Brazil (from Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Piauí and Paraíba states), five areas of Caatinga and one from Atlantic Rain Forest biome. Collections were made during the rainy season on each area. The specimens were analyzed under stereomicroscope and mounted in glass slides for microscopy. The specimens identified as Paronellidae had their occurrence recorded and five new species were described. An identification key to the brazilian genera of the family was also prepared. Twelve species of Paronellidae were recorded for the first time to Brazil: Campylothorax mitrai; Lepidonella. sp. nov. 1; Lepidonella sp. nov. 2, Lepidonella sp. nov. 3, Lepidonella sp. nov 4, Lepidonella sp. nov. 5; Dicranocentruga sp. Nov. 1; Dicranocentruga sp. Nov. 2; Dicranocentruga sp. Nov. 3; Paronella sp. nov.1; Serroderus sp. nov.1 and Trogolaphysa. sp. 1, where C. mitrai, Lepidonella. sp. nov 1, Dicranocentruga sp. nov 1, Dicranocentruga sp. nov 2 and Dicranocentruga sp. nov 3 were described. Serroderus and Dicranocentruga genera were recorded for the first time to Brazil. The description of Lepidonella sp. nov 1 also represents the first description of a species of the genus for the country. The data presented show a high potential species richness to Paronellidae, not only in the northeast region, but as in Brazil. In fact, with the records presented in this work, the number of recorded species of Paronellidae in the country increased by 80%. The study of this particular fauna may direct environmental conservation policies, especially in areas of Caatinga

Proposta metodológica para o imageamento, caracterização, parametrização e geração de modelos virtuais de afloramentos

The aim of this work was to describe the methodological procedures that were mandatory to develop a 3D digital imaging of the external and internal geometry of the analogue outcrops from reservoirs and to build a Virtual Outcrop Model (VOM). The imaging process of the external geometry was acquired by using the Laser Scanner, the Geodesic GPS and the Total Station procedures. On the other hand, the imaging of the internal geometry was evaluated by GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar).The produced VOMs were adapted with much more detailed data with addition of the geological data and the gamma ray and permeability profiles. As a model for the use of the methodological procedures used on this work, the adapted VOM, two outcrops, located at the east part of the Parnaiba Basin, were selected. On the first one, rocks from the aeolian deposit of the Piaui Formation (Neo-carboniferous) and tidal flat deposits from the Pedra de Fogo Formation (Permian), which arises in a large outcrops located between Floriano and Teresina (Piauí), are present. The second area, located at the National Park of Sete Cidades, also at the Piauí, presents rocks from the Cabeças Formation deposited in fluvial-deltaic systems during the Late Devonian. From the data of the adapted VOMs it was possible to identify lines, surfaces and 3D geometry, and therefore, quantify the geometry of interest. Among the found parameterization values, a table containing the thickness and width, obtained in canal and lobes deposits at the outcrop Paredão and Biblioteca were the more relevant ones. In fact, this table can be used as an input for stochastic simulation of reservoirs. An example of the direct use of such table and their predicted radargrams was the identification of the bounding surface at the aeolian sites from the Piauí Formation. In spite of such radargrams supply only bi-dimensional data, the acquired lines followed of a mesh profile were used to add a third dimension to the imaging of the internal geometry. This phenomenon appears to be valid for all studied outcrops. As a conclusion, the tool here presented can became a new methodology in which the advantages of the digital imaging acquired from the Laser Scanner (precision, accuracy and speed of acquisition) were combined with the Total Station procedure (precision) using the classical digital photomosaic technique

O uso da representação cartográfica e a cartofobia: analisando a prática e a formação inicial docente na Geografia do ensino público em Teresina-PI

This word has objective to analyzer the relevance of the use of the cartographic representations, in the constructions of the geographical knowledge, during the process of the teaching-learning in the classes of the Geographic of the High School, drawing liam with the formation docent of the regulars courses of teacher training in the regular courses of Degree in Geography. Delimit is the area of empiric search to College State Zacarias de Goes (CEZG) Liceu Piauiense, and to regulars courses of Degree in Geography of the University Federal of the Piauí (UFPI) and University State of the Piauí (UESPI), educational institutions of the public network, located in the city of the Teresina Piauí. Expression of the problematic searched is gaps to been demystified on the vision cartofógica, when has reference to use of the cartographic representations, in the practice, and the initial formation docent in the Geography. To analyze the dynamics of the use of the cartographic resources, tried demystify the Cartography while of the space during the teaching of discipline Geography. So, the lyam with the initial formation in the begree search understand the impasses of construction to academic know and the possibilities of the didactic transposition to the restructure of the know scholar to teacher who works in the Geography, trying to make the teaching of this discipline more interesting and value

Capparaceae: flora do Rio Grande do Norte e biogeografia no semiárido brasileiro

Capparaceae comprises 25 genera and 480 species, of which 110 are included in 18 genera in Neotropics. Its distribution is pantropical with high frequency in seasonally dry environments. Its representatives are woody, shrubs and rarely wines, with simple leave or compound 3-foliolate, shorts and deciduous floral bracts, tetramerous and nocturnal flowers with exserts and numerous stamens, ovary supero on a gynophore and fleshy fruits, dehiscents or indehiscentes. For Brazil, 12 genera and 28 species are recorded and 12 of that are endemic to the country, occurring preferentially in vegetation of savanna estépica s.str., seasonal semideciduos forest and restinga. This work shows two chapters. In the first chapter, the distributions patterns of the species occurring in the brazilian semi-arid region and their distribution intra Caatinga are discussed. The distribution patterns were determined from a review of the distribution of species in herbaria collections and supplemented with data obtained from specific bibliography about the family. A map containing 1 × 1 grid cells was used to evaluate the richness, collection efforts and floristic similarity of the species intra Caatinga. Six genera and eight species were registered in Caatinga. Four species are endemic to Brazil, with only one endemic to Caatinga, and the other four are widespread in Neotropics. Four distribution patterns were observed: restricted to the NE, broad and continuous in Brazil, disjunct and neotropical. All the species were recorded in Bahia, state with the highest species richness per grid cell and also remarkable sampling efforts species of the family. The state of Piauí presents priority areas for further collection of Capparaceae, due to low family representation in the state. The floristic similarity analysis intra Caatinga was low, 22 %, probably due to a few species of the family in the region and the wide distribution of the same. The second chapter presents the Capparaceae of flora to Rio Grande do Norte (RN), since the state has a little-known flora, with specific studies. Through collections in the state and herbaria review, five genera and six species of Capparaceae were recorded in RN: Capparidastrum (1 spp.); Crateva (1 spp.); Cynophalla (2 spp.); Mesocapparis (1 spp.) and Neocalyptrocalyx (1 spp.). Capparidastrum frondosum and Mesocapparis lineata are new records for the state. An identification key, descriptions and images, comments on the biology of the species and protected areas where they occur are showed.

Análise crítica da (des)(re)construção identitária em produções de narrativas de mulheres vítimas de violência de gênero

La violence a été utilisée comme un outil de maintenance du système patriarcal qui hante encore notre société. In séré et légitimé dans / par notre culture, le régime patriarcal considère la femme comme un être inférieur qui doit être subjugué et maîtrisé, y compris par la force. Cette recherche a pour d'étudier, dans les pratiques discursives et sociales, les process us de (dé) (re)construction de l’identité dans les productions de récits de femmes victimes de violence sexiste. Par conséquent, nous nous efforcerons de vérifier les études d'autres domaines tels que les études culturelles, la sociologie, le féminisme, en tre autres. De ce fait, nous croyons que ce mémoire se trouve dans les études de Linguistique Appliquée et dispose d'un point de vue interdisciplinaire (MOITA - LOPES, 2006), en plus des domaines énumérés, nous utiliserons l’analyse critique du discours, la sociologie pour le changement social et linguistique systémique fonctionnelle. Pour l'analyse autour de la posture interdisciplinaire en Linguistique Appliquée, on utilise la méthodologie qualitative/ interprétative (Magalhães, 2001). Afin d'examiner les r écits du «je» de femmes victimes de violence, nous nous sommes servie des récits exposés sur Internet, puisqu'ils sont du domaine public. Ainsi, nous avons étudié que les rapports trouvés sur l’outil « commentaire » présents dans les rapports du site G1, p lus spécifiquement, les rapports sur la violence de genre réalisés en 2014 dans deux villes du nord - est : Piauí et Rio Grande do Norte, et dans une déclaration faite dans le programme "Profession Reporter" en 2011. Pour asseoir notre recherche, comme une m éthode d'étude et de théorie sociale, nous utilisons l'Approche Sociologique Communicationnel du Discours, courant lié aux hypothèses de l’Analyse Critique du Discours (Pedrosa, 2012a). Les données montrent que les récits du «je» dans l'outil «commentaire» sont divisés en deux groupes principaux: les récits de renonciation et les récits de persistance. Nous réalisons également que les sujets se déplacent dans les sphères d'identité selon leurs contextes narratifs. La recherche nous a permis de déduire enco re qu'il y a une possibilité de changement social à partir de la narrativisation des tensions identitaires et la reconnaissance des inégalités dans les relations de pouvoir.

Evolução estratigráfica da sequência neocarbonífera-eotriássica da Bacia do Parnaíba, NE do Brasil

The Parnaíba Basin consists in an intracratonic basin whose sucession of rocks is arranged in five supersequences. The Upper Carboniferous-Lower Triassic Sequence represents the third major sedimentary cycle and corresponds to Balsas Group, which is divided into four units: Piauí Formation, Pedra de Fogo Formation, Motuca Formation and Sambaíba Formation, from base to top. Different interpretations have been made by several authors in recent decades to interpreted the depositional system and environments related to each unit that belongs to this sequence. In general way, it is described as a thick pack of siliciclastic sediments deposited under complex conditions, varying from clastic/evaporitic shallow marine to lacustrine and desert environment. Aiming to clarify the sedimentary sequence evolution, this work underwent a stratigraphic analysis of the Upper Carboniferous-Lower Triassic deposits by applying modern concepts of the sequence stratigraphy based on well and seismic database. Three main depositional sequences of higher frequency were identified in each well analyzed. The sequence 1 corresponds to rocks initially deposited by a fluvial system with braided channel characteristics which evolved to shallow marine with coastal sabkha conditions related to a transgressive stage, that later evolved to a deltaic system. The Sequence 2 corresponds to rocks deposited in a lacustrine/desert environment associated with sabkha generated during a period of increased aridity in which the area occupied by the Parnaíba Basin had been suffering. The registration of a major regressive phase is shown in Sequence 2 which evolved to a dominantly desert environment recorded in Sequence 3. Seismic stratigraphy analyses allow to define a series of stratigraphic surfaces and related genetic units, as well as to infer its lateral expression. Seismic facies associated with such sequences are dominantly parallel and sub-parallel, with good lateral continuity, suggesting the sedimentary rate was relatively constant during deposition.

Evolução estratigráfica da sequência neocarbonífera-eotriássica da Bacia do Parnaíba, NE do Brasil

The Parnaíba Basin consists in an intracratonic basin whose sucession of rocks is arranged in five supersequences. The Upper Carboniferous-Lower Triassic Sequence represents the third major sedimentary cycle and corresponds to Balsas Group, which is divided into four units: Piauí Formation, Pedra de Fogo Formation, Motuca Formation and Sambaíba Formation, from base to top. Different interpretations have been made by several authors in recent decades to interpreted the depositional system and environments related to each unit that belongs to this sequence. In general way, it is described as a thick pack of siliciclastic sediments deposited under complex conditions, varying from clastic/evaporitic shallow marine to lacustrine and desert environment. Aiming to clarify the sedimentary sequence evolution, this work underwent a stratigraphic analysis of the Upper Carboniferous-Lower Triassic deposits by applying modern concepts of the sequence stratigraphy based on well and seismic database. Three main depositional sequences of higher frequency were identified in each well analyzed. The sequence 1 corresponds to rocks initially deposited by a fluvial system with braided channel characteristics which evolved to shallow marine with coastal sabkha conditions related to a transgressive stage, that later evolved to a deltaic system. The Sequence 2 corresponds to rocks deposited in a lacustrine/desert environment associated with sabkha generated during a period of increased aridity in which the area occupied by the Parnaíba Basin had been suffering. The registration of a major regressive phase is shown in Sequence 2 which evolved to a dominantly desert environment recorded in Sequence 3. Seismic stratigraphy analyses allow to define a series of stratigraphic surfaces and related genetic units, as well as to infer its lateral expression. Seismic facies associated with such sequences are dominantly parallel and sub-parallel, with good lateral continuity, suggesting the sedimentary rate was relatively constant during deposition.

Processo identitário profissional: as experiências formativas de licenciandos do curso de Física - UFPI

In this research, we have as study object the identification process with the profession of students of the Undergraduate course for preparing professors for teaching Physics of the Federal University of Piauí. We start from the following question: - What relationships can be established among the senses given by the students to the group of the experiences lived in their initial formation and the identity construction as teacher? The presupposition is that the process of identification with the profession can contain formative experiences that are impossible to be reduced to the situations of disciplines learning. We considered that, in the development of the process of professional identification, the articulations and the connections that the students established with themselves, with the others - their formative teachers, managers - and with the world - the University, the public school - they should be understood in the interdependence relationships, consubstantiated in the experiences lived during the initial stage of their formation. Therefore, our objective is to understand the process of identification of the students with the teaching profession, based in the senses given to their formative experiences. In order to get this aim, we used the methodology of the Comprehensive Interview, and we chose as methodological and theoretical principles: the multi-referential theoretical framework, 'configuration and interdependence', the relationship among 'identity and alterity', the sensitive hearing and the 'intellectual craft'. The study is organized in two parts: the first, contains two chapters, that have introductory character. The second part is unfolded in five chapters, and it constitutes the development of the thesis. In the "paths", we revealed, starting from the actions and intentions that mobilized the students, processes involved in the choice of the course, and, this way, the initial identifications with the being an university student. We looked for to identify possible dissonances among the curriculum 'instituted and instituting', as well as the implications of its management of the formative experiences of future teachers. In short, we tried to capture, through the speeches of a group of students, the signs, the images and the senses of their formative experiences, which indicate as a vision of how their teaching profession is built. With this study, we sought to contribute for the researches on the field of degrees, taking as axis the formative processes that configure those courses. Finally, that the proposition of professor formation politics should be fundamentally based in internal demands, lived in the formative processes.

Infância e regimentos escolares no Rio Grande do Norte (1910-1920)

RODRIGUES, Marta Bezerra; MEDEIROS, Ana Luiza. Infância e regimentos escolares no Rio Grande do Norte (1910-1920). In: COLÓQUIO NACIONAL DA AFIRSE, SECÇÃO BRASILEIRA, 6., 2011, Teresina, 2011. Anais... Teresina: Universidade Federal do Piauí, 2011.

Aspectos da qualidade de vida de pacientes com coinfecção HIV/tuberculose

Investigar a qualidade de vida de pacientes com coinfecção HIV/ tuberculose e apreender as mudanças impostas para viver simultaneamente com estas doenças transmissíveis. Métodos: Pesquisa com abordagem qualiquantitativa, realizada em ambulatório especializado em Fortaleza, Brasil, entre 2009 e 2010, com 34 coinfectados. Para coleta de dados foi utilizada uma escala de qualidade de vida, denominada HAT-QoL que possui 42 itens e questões abertas para possibilitar perceber as mudanças em face das doenças. Resultados: A maioria dos participantes tinha tuberculose na forma pulmonar, eram homens, com pouca escolaridade. A qualidade de vida mostrou-se prejudicada nos domínios relacionados às questões econômicas, sexuais e de sigilo. Ainda, foi evidenciado, que a coinfecção impõe mudanças no cotidiano que corroboram e ampliam o comprometimento da qualidade de vida. Conclusão: Vivenciar a coinfecção, mesmo com terapêutica adequada, produz alterações na vida dos infectados, cujas repercussões podem ser amenizadas com intervenções que promovam a saúde

Diversidade Ictiofaunística e Ecologia reprodutiva de uma espécie nativa de peixe da Bacia Piranhas-Assu, RN

The Caatinga biome is rich in endemic fish species fauna. The present study the results of fish faunal surveys conducted in the hydrographic basin of Piranhas-Assu of the Brazilian Caatinga biome. The fish samples collected were distributed in four orders (Characiformes, Perciformes, Siluriformes and Synbranchiformes), 11 families (Characidae, Curimatidae, Auchenipteridae, Anostomidae, Prochilodontidae, Erythrinidae, Cichlidae, Sciaenidae, Heptapteridae, Loricariidae, Synbranchidae) and 22 species, of which 17 are endemic and five have been introduced from other basins. The order Characiformes was the most representative in number of species (46,35% ) followed by Perciformes (35,38%), Siluriformes (17,44%) and Synbranchiformes (0,5%). The Nile tilapia, Oreochomis niloticus, the only exotic species, was most expressive in number of individuals (24.92%) followed by the native species piau preto, Leporinus piau (18,77 %). Considering the relative frequency of occurrence of the 22 species, 13 were constant, five were accessory and four were occasional. This study investigated the reproductive ecology of an endemic fish black piau, Leporinus piau from the Marechal Dutra reservoir, Acari, Rio Grande do Norte. Samplings were done on a monthly basis from January to December 2009, and a total of 211 specimens were captured. The environmental parameters such as rainfall, temperature, pH, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen of water were recorded. The sampled population showed a slight predominance of males (55%), however females were larger and heavier. Both sexes of L. piau showed positive allometric growth, indicating a higher increase of weight than length. The first sexual maturation of males occurred at smaller size, with 16.5 cm in total length than females (20.5 cm). During the reproductive period, the condition factor and gonadosomatic index (GSI) of L. piau were negatively correlated. This species has large oocytes with a high mean fecundity of 54.966 with synchronous oocyte development and total spawning