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Based on recent surveys of the freshwater decapod fauna, distributional data of five exotic species of freshwater decapod crustaceans for the hydrographic basins of the state of Sa˜o Paulo are presented, as part of a large initiative for a comprehensive survey of the state's biodiversity (BIOTA-FAPESP Program). These species are the North American crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard) (Cambaridae), the crab Dilocarcinus pagei Stimpson (Trichodactylidae) from the Amazon and Paraguay/lower Parana´River Basins, and the palaemonid shrimps Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man), from the Indo-Pacific region, Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller) and Macrobrachium jelskii (Miers), both from the Orinoco, Amazon and the Paraguay/lower ParanaŔ iver Basins. Possible modes by which their introduction might have occurred are commented upon and potential consequences are discussed.

Recently new heuristic genetic algorithms such as Treefinder and MetaGA have been developed to search for optimal trees in a maximum likelihood (ML) framework. In this study we combined these methods with other standard heuristic approaches such as ML and maximum parsimony hill-climbing searches and Bayesian inference coupled with Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques under homogeneous and mixed models of evolution to conduct an extensive phylogenetic analysis of the most abundant and widely distributed southern South American freshwater"crab,"the Aegla(Anomura: Aeglidae). A total of 167 samples representing 64 Aegla species and subspecies were sequenced for one nuclear (28S rDNA) and four mitochondrial (12S and 16S rDNA, COI, and COII) genes (5352 bp total). Additionally, six other anomuran species from the genera Munida,Pachycheles, and Uroptychus(Galatheoidea), Lithodes(Paguroidea), and Lomis(Lomisoidea) and the nuclear 18S rDNA gene (1964 bp) were included in preliminary analyses for rooting the Aegla tree. Nonsignificantly different phylogenetic hypotheses resulted from all the different heuristic methods used here, although the best scored topologies found under the ML hill-climbing, Bayesian, and MetaGA approaches showed considerably better likelihood scores (Delta> 54) than those found under the MP and Treefinder approaches. Our trees provided strong support for most of the recognized Aegla species except for A. cholchol,A. jarai,A. parana,A. marginata, A. platensis, and A. franciscana, which may actually represent multiple species. Geographically, the Aegla group was divided into a basal western clade (21 species and subspecies) composed of two subclades with overlapping distributions, and a more recent central-eastern clade (43 species) composed of three subclades with fairly well-recognized distributions. This result supports the Pacific-Origin Hypothesis postulated for the group; alternative hypotheses of Atlantic or multiple origins were significantly rejected by our analyses. Finally, we combined our phylogenetic results with previous hypotheses of South American paleodrainages since the Jurassic to propose a biogeographical framework of the Aegla radiation.

ABSTRACT. Studies on the occurrence, temporal distribution and nychthemeral variation of Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller, 1862) were undet1aken in Leopoldo's Inlet, upper Paraná River, Porto Rico, Paraná, Brazil. Seventeen thousand and sixty specimens (11,786 larvae and 5,274 juveniles) were captured with a conicalcylindrical plankton net of mesh 0.5mm in monthly samples between February 1991 and Februaty 1992. Results show lhat the greatest densities of larvae (301.83 larvae/I Om) andjuveniles (168.8/1 Om) ofthis species were caught in December 1991. Largest captures were made during the nighl. With regard to abiotic factors water temperature ranged fram 20° to 30°C, pH ranged fram 5.66 to 7.37 and electric conductivity ranged fram 51.83 to 65.33!lS/cm. Relationship between the density of larvae and juveniles and abiotic factors was calculated by the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) which revealed the influence of some limnological variables especially on the distribution of larvae. KEY WORDS. Decapoda, Palaemonidae, Macrobrachium amazonicum, temporal distribution, nychthemeral variation, Paraná River Since some species offreshwater shrimps have a high economical quotation, studies have been undertaken, chief1y on the genus Macrobrachium (Bate, 1868), in different regions of Brazil with regard to the general ecological and biological aspects of these o rganisms. Among these studies m ention should be mad e of the research works of

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We assessed the conservation priority of 18 freshwater ecoregions in southern South America on the basis of Aegla (genus of freshwater crabs) genetic diversity and distribution. Geographical distributions for 66 Aegla species were taken from the literature and plotted against ecoregions and main river basins of southern South America. Species richness and number of threatened and endemic species were calculated for each area. To assess taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity, we generated a molecular phylogeny based on DNA sequences for one nuclear (28S) and 4 mitochondrial (12S, 16S, COI, and COII) genes. All species richness and phylogenetic methods agreed, to a large extent, in their rankings of the importance of conservation areas, as indicated by the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (p < 0.01); nonetheless, some of the lowest correlations were observed between taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity indices. The 5 ecoregions of the Laguna dos Patos Basin (Eastern Brazil), Central Chile, South Brazilian Coast, Chilean Lakes, and Subtropical Potamic Axis (northern Argentina and southern Uruguay and Paraguay) had the highest biodiversity scores. Conservation of these regions will preserve the largest number of species and the greatest amount of genetic diversity within the South American freshwater Aegla fauna. Biodiversity across rivers and within areas was heterogeneously distributed in the ecoregions of Upper Paraná, Ribeira do Iguape, Upper Uruguay, and South Brazilian Coast (i.e., one river showed significantly more biodiversity than any other river from the same ecoregion), but homogeneously distributed in the other ecoregions. Hence, conservation plans in the former regions will potentially require less effort than plans in the latter regions.

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 Abstract Viau, V. E., López Greco, L. S., Bond-Buckup, G. & Rodriguez, E. M. 2006. Size at the onset of sexual maturity in the anomuran crab, Aegla uruguayana (Aeglidae). -Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 87 : 253-264The size at maturity was studied in the crab Aegla uruguayana from the Areco River (31 ° 14 ′ S, 59 ° 28 ′ W), Argentina. Size at sexual maturity was determined according to three criteria: morphometric (change in the relative growth of reproductive characters), histological (first maturation of gonads) and functional (capability to mate and carry eggs). Regarding females, morphometric maturity occurred at a carapace length (CL) of 11.50 mm, considering abdomen width as a reproductive character. Gonad maturity of females could be observed at a minimum size ranging from 15 to 17 mm CL. The smallest ovigerous female observed in the field was 15.60 mm CL, although a relevant population incidence of ovigerous females (86.6%) has just been observed at values higher than 17 mm CL. As for males, the relative growth of the left chela length changed at a value of 15.40 mm CL, while morphological changes in sexual tube occurred between CL of 14 and 16 mm. Testicular maturation occurred at a CL ranging from 17 to 19 mm. The smallest size of males having spermatozoids in their vasa deferentia was 18.70 mm CL. The results obtained indicated that, in both sexes, functional maturity occurred after morphometric maturity and at a size similar to that of gonad maturity. Comparing sexes, females acquired sexual maturity (morphometric, gonad and functional maturity) at sizes statistically smaller than those of males.