Fishery of the Uçá Crab Ucides Cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) in a Mangrove Area in Cananéia, State of São Paulo, Brazil: Fishery Performance, Exploitation Patterns and Factors Affecting the Catches

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Population biology and distribution of the portunid crab Callinectes ornatus (Decapoda: Brachyura) in an estuary-bay complex of southern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Life-history traits of the red brocade hermit crab Dardanus insignis on the subtropical Brazilian coast

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Vertical distribution by demographic groups of ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Crustacea: Brachyura)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Morphological Changes in the Seminal Receptacle During Ovarian Development in the Speckled Swimming Crab Arenaeus cribrarius

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

GASTROPOD SHELLS USED BY Dardanus insignis (Decapoda, Anomura) NEAR ISLANDS IN THE UBATUBA REGION, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

The use of gastropod shells by hermit crabs is determined by the availability of shells in the environment or through selection for size and volume. This study analyzed patterns in the use of shells by Dardanus insignis (Saussure, 1858). From January 1998 to December 1999, 386 individuals were collected from two islands at Ubatuba, Sao Paulo. The crabs were measured for cephalothoracic shield length (CSL) and wet weight (CWW). The gastropod shells occupied by hermit crabs were identified, and the shell aperture width (SAW), dry weight (SDW) and internal volume (STY) were measured. The relationships between the dimensions of the gastropod shell and the hermit crabs were evaluated by linear regression analysis. Among the 11 species of gastropod shells used by D. insignis, the most often used was Olivancillaria urceus (31%), followed by Strombus pugilis (22%) and Siratus tenuivaricosus (18%). The shell of O. urceus was used most probably due to its high availability on Couves and Mar Virado islands. The most significant biometric parameter was shell aperture width (F=18.231; p<0.0001), highlighting the importance of this variable for the shell choice by D. insignis at both sites.

Diversidade e distribuição de siris (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) e dinâmica populacional de Callinectes ornatus no litoral norte de São Paulo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Assessment of reproductive capacity in females of Smith, 1869 (Brachyura, Portunoidea) during a period of high reproductive activity

The reproductive capacity of the swimming crab Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 was assessed based on the reproductive investment (RI) of ovigerous females and the gonadosomatic index (GI) of non-ovigerous adult females. Crabs were collected in June 2009 with a shrimp fishing boat at Ubatuba (23° 26′S 45° 02′W) São Paulo, Brazil. Overall, 191 adult females were analyzed, of which 108 were ovigerous and 83 non-ovigerous. The size of ovigerous females ranged from 54.5 to 79.8 mm carapace width (CW) and non-ovigerous females ranged from 56.0 to 80.9 mm CW. RI values did not differ among the size classes (ANOVA, p > 0.05), with an overall mean of 15.8%. The same occurred with the Gonadossomatic index for non-ovigerous females, for which the mean value was 11.7%. The regression between the dry weight of the egg mass and the dry weight of the crab (Student’s t, p = 0.25; ttab = 1.66; tcal = 0.66) indicated an isometric relationship for the variables analyzed. The simultaneous occurrence of gonadal maturation and embryonic development in ovigerous females suggests that these crabs may spawn at least twice in the same breeding season and reveals the need for evaluation of the allocation of energy in subsequent spawns.

Biological associations of color variation in the Indo-Pacific swimming crab Charybdis hellerii

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Assessment of reproductive capacity in females of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Brachyura, Portunoidea) during a period of high reproductive activity

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Reproductive Plasticity in the Speckled Crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) Associated with a Population Decline

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Relative growth and morphological sexual maturity of the mangrove crab Aratus pisonii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Sesarmidae) on the southern coast of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Differential habitat use by demographic groups of the redfinger rubble crab Eriphia gonagra (Fabricius, 1781)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Reproduction and management of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ucididae) at Iguape, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Oxygen consumption by the hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802) in declining oxygen tensions

1. 1. Oxygen consumption and its relationship to stepwise declining oxygen tension were examined in the common striped hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus. 2. 2. Weight-specific oxygen consumption varied with body weight (W), according to the equation log V ̇o2 = 2.1639 + (-0.419 log W). 3. 3. Shell-less individuals of 1-2 g wet wt, where found to be oxygen conformers, since oxygen consumption ( V ̇o2) decreased with declining oxygen tensions. At ambient oxygen tensions below 35.4 mmHg, oxygen consumption remained constant, suggesting an increased ventilation. 4. 4. C. vittatus was found to survive in oxygen-free seawater for 5.5 hr, and no significant differences were found in oxygen consumption rates, for shelled and shell-less crabs, measured in water and air. 5. 5. The use of a K1 K2 index of oxygen independence, showed that larger animals were better able to maintain oxygen-independence during hypoxia than smaller individuals. 6. 6. C. vittatus displayed a pattern of no oxygen debt, once returned to normoxia. © 1983.