Distribuição vertical da Anomalocardia flexuosa (Linnaeus, 1767) (Bivalvia: Veneridae) na praia de Mangue Seco (Pernambuco, Brasil)

The objective of this work was to study the vertical distribution of Anomalocardia flexuosa on a sandy beach in Northeast Brazil. A total of 135 samples were obtained during three months in 2015. The hypothesis between densities at depths up to 5 cm (density 5) and between 5 and 10 cm (density 10) was evaluated with the Student t-test. Generalized linear models were applied to evaluate the variable density 10 with spatial, temporal and abundance explanations. The results of the best model were interpolated by geostatistical methods. Densities were significantly higher at density 5 (450 ind.m²) than at density 10 (7 ind.m²). Among the models evaluated, the zero-inflated negative binomial was selected, with the interpolated predictions being credible considering that observed, and the variables used were density 5, latitude, longitude (transformed) and month (continuous). The presence of A. flexuosa in deeper layers of the substrate may result from an accidental burial and may be attributed to physical forcing and not to a behavioral cause. Therefore, the management of this species must consider fishing gear that does not penetrate the substrate beyond the preferred layer, thus not impacting non-target animals in fishing.