Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T16:41:52.176Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relative growth, sexual maturity, and breeding season of three species of the genus Persephona (Decapoda: Brachyura: Leucosiidae): a comparative study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2013

Ariádine Cristine Almeida ,
Célia Mary Hiyodo ,
Valter José Cobo ,
Giovana Bertini ,
Vivian Fransozo  and
Gustavo Monteiro Teixeira
Ariádine Cristine Almeida*
Affiliation:
NEBECC (Crustacean Biology, Ecology and Culture Study Group) Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Instituto de Biologia, Campus Umuarama, Rua Ceará, s/n, 38400-902, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
Célia Mary Hiyodo
Affiliation:
NEBECC (Crustacean Biology, Ecology and Culture Study Group)
Valter José Cobo
Affiliation:
NEBECC (Crustacean Biology, Ecology and Culture Study Group) Universidade de Taubaté, Laboratório de Biologia Marinha, Instituto de Biociências, Avenida Tiradentes, 500, 12030-180, Taubaté, SP, Brazil
Giovana Bertini
Affiliation:
NEBECC (Crustacean Biology, Ecology and Culture Study Group) Universidade Estadual Paulista, Campus Experimental de Registro, Rua Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, 11900-000, Registro, SP, Brazil
Vivian Fransozo
Affiliation:
NEBECC (Crustacean Biology, Ecology and Culture Study Group) Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Baiano, BR 420, Km 2.5, 45320-000, Santa Inês, BA, Brazil
Gustavo Monteiro Teixeira
Affiliation:
NEBECC (Crustacean Biology, Ecology and Culture Study Group) Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Departamento de Biologia Animal e Vegetal, PR 445, Km 380, 86051-990, Londrina, PR, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A.C. Almeida, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Instituto de Biologia, Campus Umuarama, Rua Ceará, s/n, 38400-902, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The relative growths of Persephona lichtensteinii, P. mediterranea, and P. punctata were investigated on the south-eastern Brazilian coast, focusing on differences in the growth rates between immature and mature phases, the onset of morphological sexual maturity, and the breeding seasons of these species. Crabs were collected every two months from January 1991 through to November 1992, from a shrimp fishing boat equipped with two otter-trawl nets. Significant differences in the patterns of body growth were observed between immature and mature phases of all three species. Changes in the growth rates of the chelipeds (males) and abdomen (females) observed for P. lichtensteinii, P. mediterranea, and P. punctata, seem to be related to the puberty moult for both sexes. Males of P. mediterranea and P. punctata reached larger mean sizes of carapace width than females, whereas no difference was recorded for P. lichtensteinii. The body size at which 50% of males attained sexual maturity was also larger in P. mediterranea and P. punctata, and smaller in P. lichtensteinii. The absence of a pronounced sexual dimorphism and the size at the onset of sexual maturity observed only for P. lichtensteinii might be explained by distinct reproductive strategies of males. The presence of ovigerous females during the entire sampling period suggests that all three species have a continuous reproduction pattern at the Ubatuba region. Future studies on the population structure, functional maturity, and mating system should improve the understanding of factors driving the biology and ecology of these species at a subtropical region.

Keywords

morphometrysexual dimorphismsexual maturityspawningsouth-eastern Brazilian coast
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 6 , September 2013 , pp. 1581 - 1591
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aidar, E., Gaeta, S.A., Gianesenella-Galvão, S.M.F., Kutner, M.B.B. and Teixeira, C. (1993) Ecossistema costeiro subtropical: nutrientes dissolvidos, fitoplâncton e clorofila-α e suas relações com as condições oceanográficas na região de Ubatuba, SP. Publicação Especial do Instituto Oceanográfico 10, 9–43.Google Scholar
Amaral, A.C.Z and Jablonski, S. (2005) Conservação da biodiversidade marinha e costeira no Brasil. Megadiversidade 1, 43–51.Google Scholar
Araújo, M.S.L.C., Negromonte, A.O., Barreto, A.V. and Castiglioni, D.S. (2012) Sexual maturity of the swimming crab Callinectes danae (Crustacea: Portunidae) at the Santa Cruz Channel, a tropical coastal environment. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 92, 287–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bertini, G., Braga, A.A., Fransozo, A., Corrêa, M.O.D.A. and Freire, F.A.M. (2007) Relative growth and sexual maturity of the stone crab Menippe nodifrons Stimpson, 1859 (Brachyura, Xanthoidea) in southeastern Brazil. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology 50, 259–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bertini, G., Fransozo, A. and Costa, R.C. (2001) Ecological distribution of three species of Persephona (Brachyura: Leucosiidae) in Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil. Nauplius 9, 31–42.Google Scholar
Bertini, G., Fransozo, A. and Melo, G.A.S. (2004) Biodiversity of brachyuran crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda) from non-consolidated sublittoral bottom on the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 13, 2185–2207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bertini, G., Teixeira, G.M., Fransozo, V. and Fransozo, A. (2010) 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. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development 54, 7–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carvalho, F.L., Carvalho, E.A.S. and Couto, E.C.G. (2010) Comparative analysis of the distribution and morphological sexual maturity of Persephona lichtensteinii and P. punctata (Brachyura, Leucosiidae) in Ilhéus, BA, Brazil. Nauplius 18, 109–115.Google Scholar
Cobo, V.J. and Alves, D.F.R. (2009) Relative growth and sexual maturity of the spider crab, Mithrax tortugae Rathbun, 1920 (Brachyura, Mithracidae) on a continental island off the southeastern Brazilian coast. Crustaceana 82, 1265–1273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corgos, A. and Freire, J. (2006) Morphometric and gonad maturity in the spider crab Maja brachydactyla: a comparison of methods for estimating size at maturity in species with determinate growth. ICES Journal of Marine Science 63, 851–859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa, T.M. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (1998) The reproductive cycle of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Decapoda, Portunidae) in the Ubatuba region. Crustaceana 71, 615–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doi, W., Yokota, M., Strüssmann, C.A. and Watanabe, S. (2008) Growth and reproduction of the portunid crab Charybdis bimaculata (Decapoda: Brachyura) in Tokyo Bay. Journal of Crustacean Biology 28, 641–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández-Vergaz, V., López Abellán, L. J. and Balguerías, E. (2000) Morphometric, functional and sexual maturity of the deep-sea red crab Chaceon affinis inhabiting Canary Island waters: chronology of maturation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 204, 169–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flores, A.A.V. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (1998) External factors determining seasonal breeding in a subtropical population of the shore crab Pachygrapsus transversus (Gibbes, 1850) (Brachyura, Grapsidae). Invertebrate, Reproduction and Development 34, 149–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerhart, S. and Bert, T.M. (2008) Life-history aspects of stone crabs (Gennus Menippe): size at maturity, growth and age. Journal of Crustacean Biology 28, 252–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haefner, P.A.Jr (1985) Morphometry, reproduction, diet, and epizoites of Ovalipes stephensoni Williams, 1976 (Decapoda, Brachyura). Journal of Crustacean Biology 5, 658–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1969) Mating in the Brachyura. Crustaceana 16, 161–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1978) The determination of relative growth in Crustacea. Crustaceana 34, 281–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1982) Growth. In Bliss, D.E. and Abele, L.G. (eds) The biology of Crustacea: embryology, morphology and genetics. New York: Academic Press, pp. 111–185.Google Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1985) Growth, sexual maturity and reproductive output. In Wenner, A.M. (ed.) Factors in adult growth. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema, pp. 101–128.Google Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (2006) Reproductive investment in Brachyura. Hydrobiologia 557, 31–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G., Baine, M.S.P., Grandas, Y., James, J. and Atkin, H. (2006) Population biology of the black land crab, Gecarcinus ruricola, in the San Andres Archipelago, western Caribbean. Journal of Crustacean Biology 26, 316–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirose, G.L. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (2007) Growth phases and differential growth between sexes of Uca maracoani Latreille, 1802–1803 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ocypodidae). Gulf and Caribbean Research 19, 43–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirose, G.L. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (2008) Population biology of Uca maracoani Latreille, 1802–1803 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ocypodidae) on the south-eastern coast of Brazil. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 3, 373–383.Google Scholar
Huxley, J.S. (1950) Relative growth and form transformation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 137, 465–469.Google ScholarPubMed
Jivoff, P. (2003) A review of male mating success in the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, in reference to the potential for fisheries-induced sperm limitation. Bulletin of Marine Science 72, 273–286.Google Scholar
Litulo, C. (2006) Population and reproductive biology of the fiddler crab Uca chlorophthalmus (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) from Inhaca Island, southern Mozambique. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 86, 737–742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mantelatto, F.M.L. and Fransozo, A. (1996) Size at sexual maturity in Callinectes ornatus (Brachyura, Portunidae) from the Ubatuba region (SP), Brazil. Nauplius 4, 29–38.Google Scholar
Mantelatto, F.L.M. and Fransozo, A. (1999a) Relative growth of the crab Sesarma rectum Randall, 1840 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Grapsidae) from Bertioga, São Paulo, Brazil. Pakistan Journal of Marine Biology 5, 11–21.Google Scholar
Mantelatto, F.L.M. and Fransozo, A. (1999b) Reproductive biology and moulting cycle of the crab Callinectes ornatus (Crustacea, Portunidae) in the Ubatuba Region, São Paulo, Brazil. Crustaceana 72, 63–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mantelatto, F.L.M. and Fransozo, A. (2000) Brachyuran community in Ubatuba Bay, northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Journal of Shellfish Research 19, 701–709.Google Scholar
Mantelatto, F.L.M., Fransozo, A. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (1995) Population structure of Hepatus pudibundus (Decapoda: Calappidae) in Fortaleza Bay, Brazil. Revista de Biologia Tropical 43, 265–270.Google Scholar
Mantelatto, F.L.M. and Martinelli, J.M. (1999) Carapace width–weight relationships of Callinectes ornatus (Brachyura, Portunidae) from Ubatuba Bay, Brazil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia 87, 111–116.Google Scholar
Mclay, C.L. and Van den Brink, A.M. (2009) Relative growth and size at sexual maturity in Halicarcinus cookii (Brachyura: Hymenosomatidae): why are some crabs precocious moulters? Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89, 743–752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melo, G.A.S. (1996) Manual de Identificação dos Brachyura (Caranguejos e Siris) do Litoral Brasileiro. 1st edition. São Paulo: Editora Plêiade.Google Scholar
Mura, M., Orrù, F., and Cau, A. (2005) Size at sexual maturity of the spider crab Anamathia rissoana (Decapoda: Majoidea) from the Sardinian Sea. Journal of Crustacean Biology 25, 110–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L., Fransozo, A. and Hebling, N.J. (1989) Larval development of Persephona mediterranea (Herbst, 1794) (Brachyura, Leucosiidae) under laboratory conditions. Crustaceana 57, 177–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L., Colpo, K.D. and Costa, T.M. (2003) Allometric growth in the fiddler crab Uca thayeri (Brachyura, Ocypodidae) from a subtropical mangrove. Journal of Crustacean Biology 23, 273–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odebrecht, C. and Castello, J.P. (2001) The convergence ecosystem in the Southwest Atlantic. Ecological Studies 144, 147–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pereira, M.J., Branco, J.O., Christoffersen, M.L., Junior, F.F., Fracasso, H.A.A. and Pinheiro, T.C. (2009) Population biology of Callinectes danae and Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea: Brachyura: Portunidae) in the south-western Atlantic. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89, 1341–1351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Fransozo, A. (1993) Relative growth of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Brachyura, Portunidae), near Ubatuba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Crustaceana 65, 377–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Fransozo, A. (1998) Sexual maturity of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae), in the Ubatuba littoral, São Paulo State, Brazil. Crustaceana 71, 434–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pires, A.M.S. (1992) Structure and dynamics of benthic megafauna on the continental shelf offshore of Ubatuba, southeastern, Brazil. Marine Ecology Progress Series 86, 63–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pires-Vanin, A.M.S. and Matsuura, Y. (1993) Estrutura e função do ecossistema de plataforma continental da região de Ubatuba, Estado de São Paulo: uma introdução. Boletim do Instituto Oceanográfico 10, 1–8.Google Scholar
Powell, G.C., James, K.E. and Hurd, C.L. (1974) Ability of male king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, to mate repeatedly, Kodiak, Alaska, 1973. Fishery Bulletin 72, 171–179.Google Scholar
Rasheed, S. and Mustaquim, J. (2010) Size at sexual maturity, breeding season and fecundity of three-spot swimming crab Portunus sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) occurring in the coastal waters of Karachi, Pakistan. Fisheries Research 103, 56–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reigada, A.L.D. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (1999) Maturidade sexual em Hepatus pudibundus (Decapoda, Brachyura, Calappidae). Iheringia Série Zoologia 86, 159–164.Google Scholar
Reigada, A.L.D. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (2000) Reproductive cycle of Hepatus pudibundus (Herbst, 1785) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Calappidae) in Ubatuba, SP, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 60, 483–491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sal Moyano, M.P., Gavio, M.A. and Maggi, M.D. (2011) Morphometric and gonad maturity of the spider crab Libinia spinosa (Crustacea: Brachyura: Majoidea: Epialtidae) in Argentina. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 91, 837–844.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sampedro, M.P., González-Gurriarán, E., Freire, J. and Muiño, R. (1999) Morphometry and sexual maturity in the spider crab Maja squinado (Decapoda: Majidae) in Galicia, Spain. Journal of Crustacean Biology 19, 578–592.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, S. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (1996) Maturidade morfológica em Portunus spinimanus Latreille, 1819 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Portunidae) na região de Ubatuba, SP. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 39, 365–377.Google Scholar
Santos, S., Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. and Fransozo, A. (1995) Morphometric relationships and maturation in Portunus spinimanus Latreille, 1819 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Portunidae). Revista Brasileira de Biologia 55, 545–553.Google Scholar
Sastry, A.N. (1983) Ecological aspects of reproduction. In Vernberg, F.J. and Vernberg, W.B. (eds) The biology of the Crustacea: environmental adaptations, New York, Academic Press, pp. 179–270.Google Scholar
Teixeira, G.M., Fransozo, V., Cobo, V.J. and Hiyodo, C.M. (2009) Population features of the spider crab Acanthonyx scutiformis (Dana, 1851) (Crustacea, Majoidea, Epialtidae) associated with rocky-shore algae from southeastern Brazil. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 4, 87–95.Google Scholar
Varisco, M. and Vinuesa, J. (2011) Reproductive biology of the spider crab Leucippa pentagona (Decapoda: Epialtidae), in Bustamante Bay, Argentina. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research 39, 471–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zar, J.H. (1999) Biostatistical analysis. 4th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar