Populations analysis of the Brazilian Sharpnose Shark Rhizoprionodon lalandii (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) on the São Paulo coast, Southern Brazil: inferences from mt DNA sequences

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

Population dynamics of Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae): experimental and theoretical studies at different temperatures

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

Fecundity, body size and population dynamics of Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

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

Bouchardia rosea, a vanishing brachiopod species of the Brazilian platform: taphonomy, historical ecology and conservation paleobiology

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

Reproductive period and size at the onset of sexual maturity of mottled purse crab, Persephona mediterranea (Herbst, 1794) (Brachyura, Leucosioidea) on the southeastern Brazilian coast

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

Spatial-temporal variation of Paralonchurus brasiliensis (Actinopterygii: Sciaenidae) density in relation to some environmental factors on the inner shelf of south-eastern Brazilian coast

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

Population and reproductive biology of the crab Uca burgersi (Crustacea : Ocypodidae) in three subtropical mangrove forests

Population and reproductive biology were studied in three populations of the crab Uca burgersi Holthuis, 1967, in the Indaia, Cavalo and Ubatumirim mangrove forests (Ubatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil). Crabs were collected during low tide (August 2001 through July 2002), by digging the sediment, with a standard capture effort (two persons for 30 min.). Carapace width was measured, and gonad developmental stage was recorded from all specimens. U. burgersi was most abundant in the Cavalo mangrove, where the largest mate was found. Juvenile crabs were found year-round at all three sites. However, the ratio of ovigerous females was very low, even null in the Cavalo mangrove. The gonad development rate indicated that U. burgersi was reproducing continuously, but more intensively during spring and summer, with recruitment occurring in winter. The synchrony between the populational and reproductive biology in the three areas showed that local features were not the limiting factors. It is suggested that this species is a habitat generalist.

Latitudinal variation in population structure and reproductive pattern of the endemic south american shrimp Artemesia longinaris (Decapoda : Penaeoidea)

Population Structure and reproductive Maturity of females were investigated in the shrimp Artemesia longinaris Bate, 1888 from coastal waters of northern São Paulo State (Brazil. 23 degrees S) and Mar del Plata (Argentina, 38 degrees S) from June 2001 to May 2002. Monthly collections were taken by, commercial shrimp fishing boats equipped with bottom trawl nets. Population parameters from size frequency distributions and size (carapace length = CL) of female reproductive maturity were analyzed and compared front the two sampling areas. Latitudinal trends in reproductive parameters of A. longinaris were shown in overall body size and size of reproductive maturity, both of which were smaller in females from the tropical location than those front the cold-temperate sampling area. Largest females (> 30 turn CL) were collected in Argentina, while Brazilian specimens reached maximum size at 27 nun CL. The smallest Size of female sexual maturity was estimated at 13.6 nun CL in Brazilian samples compared to 22.1 mm CL calculated for those from Argentina. Populations from both regions exhibited a bimodal size distribution in the spring, with the peak at small body size probably corresponding to recent recruits and the peak at larger body, size to reproductive females or shrimps migrating in from deeper waters or other latitudinal regions. In late spring and summer. an intrusion of the cold South Atlantic Coastal Water mass was observed which lowered water temperature and stimulated plankton production. The primary food source for the larvae of a typically cold-temperate species such as A. longinaris. The trend of increasing body size and delay of sexual maturity with increasing latitude appears to be correlated with the decreasing water temperature and increasing plankton productivity at higher latitudes.

Relative growth and morphological sexual maturity of Chasmagnathus granulatus (Crustacea, Varunidae) from a mangrove area in southeastern Brazilian coast

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

Relative growth of Uca burgersi (Crustacea, Ocypodidae) from two mangroves in the southeastern Brazilian coast

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

Reproductive output of the spider crab Epialtus bituberculatus (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) associated with beds of the alga Sargassum cymosum (C. Agardh, 1820) on the southeastern Brazilian coast

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Population features of the spider crab Acanthonyx scutiformis (Dana 1851) (Crustacea, Majoidea, Epialtidae) associated with rocky-shore algae from southeastern Brazil.

Acanthonyx scutiformis, an endemic species in the Brazilian coast, is commonly found in intertidal rocky-shore algal communities. This study analyzes the population biology of A. scutiformis from Ubatuba region. A total of 371 specimens were collected over one year. Size range was 4.2[long dash]12.7 mm CW (carapace width) for females and 3.7[long dash]15.8 mm CW for males. Females predominated in intermediate size classes, whereas males prevailed in the largest ones. The estimated size when 50% crabs were mature was 10.7 mm CW for males and 8.9 mm CW for females. Sex ratio varied among the demographic groups. The processes that influence A. scutiformis population structure can be related to the different times males and females reach sexual maturity and probably to the distinct predation pressures on each sex during the adult phase.

Genetic structure of the ornamental tetra fish species Piabucus melanostomus Holmberg, 1891 (CHARACIDAE, IGUANODECTINAE) in the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands inferred by mitochondrial DNA sequences

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

Cytogenetic characterisation of the ornamental freshwater fish, Piabucus melanostomus (Iguanodectinae) from Brazilian wetlands and its relation with species of Characidae basal group

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

EVIDENCE of A FAILED PREDATION ATTEMPT on A GUIANA DOLPHIN, Sotalia guianensis, BY A BULL SHARK, Carcharhinus leucas, IN BRAZILIAN WATERS.

Even though shark-cetacean interactions have been the subject of numerous studies worldwide, several ecological aspects such as competition, predation risk and co-evolution remain unclear. on February 16th, 2008, during a photo-identification survey to investigate population parameters of Guiana dolphins, Sotalia guianensis, in estuarine waters of Parana State (25[degree]S; 48[degree]W), Brazil, an adult dolphin was photographed without its dorsal fin. A detailed analysis of the healed area on the injured dolphin showed that the circular, crescent-shaped outlined wound was provoked by the bite of a bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas. Wound shape, prey-predator distributional patterns (sympatry) and feeding habits of the shark species here considered were indicative of the species' identity. The wound is likely to be the result of a failed predation attempt. Interactions between C. leucas and S. guianensis should be expected, since they are sympatric along almost all of their distribution range in the tropical and subtropical western South Atlantic. The presented observation adds S. guianensis to the list of cetacean species involved in interactions with large coastal predatory sharks.