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We investigated the effect of long-term starvation and posterior feeding on energetic reserves, oxidative stress, digestive enzymes, and histology of C. quadricarinatus midgut gland. The crayfish (6.27 g) were randomly assigned to one of three feeding protocols: continuous feeding throughout 80 day, continuous starvation until 80 day, and continuous starvation throughout 50 day and then feeding for the following 30 days. Juveniles from each protocol were weighed, and sacrificed at day 15, 30, 50 or 80. The lipids, glycogen, reduced glutathione (GSH), soluble protein, lipid peroxidation (TBARS), protein oxidation (PO), catalase (CAT), lipase and proteinase activities, and histology were measured on midgut gland. Starved crayfish had a lower hepatosomatic index, number of molts, specific growth rate, lipids, glycogen, and GSH levels than fed animals at all assay times. The starvation did not affect the soluble protein, TBARS, PO levels and CAT. In starved juveniles the lipase activity decreased as starvation time increased, whereas proteinase activity decreased only at day 80. The histological analysis of the starved animals showed several signs of structural alterations. After 30 days of feeding, the starved-feeding animals exhibited a striking recovery of hepatosomatic index, number of molts, lipids and glycogen, GSH, lipase activity and midgut gland structure.

One of the most remarkable features of the reproductive systems of eubrachyuran crabs is the presence of specialized organs for sperm storage, the seminal receptacles. Descriptions of seminal receptacle morphology, sperm storage time, sperm retention across molts, and the capacity to store multiple ejaculates from different males can help in understanding crab mating strategies as well as in preventing negative effects of male-biased fisheries of heavily harvested species. Metacarcinus edwardsii is the most harvested crab in Chile, but its reproductive biology is largely unstudied. In this study, the morphology of the seminal receptacles of M. edwardsii is characterized from the macroscopic to the microscopic level, during key points in the reproductive cycle. The receptacles of experimentally mated and wild-caught females were included in this analysis. Metacarcinus edwardsii has ventral-type seminal receptacles that are able to retain sperm after molting, and even after extrusion of the eggs. Stratification of multiple ejaculates is clearly observed. In general, the pattern of sperm storage indicates that populations of this species, like those of other cancrid crabs, could have high resilience to the negative effects of the selective harvest of males, principally because females have a great sperm storage capacity.

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Abstract. To better understand the mating systems of majoid crabs, we studied the functional anatomy of the female reproductive systems of the spider crabs Leurocyclus tuberculosus and Libinia spinosa, comparing them with those of other Majoidea. Adult females were measured and dissected, and their reproductive systems described macroscopically and histologically. In females of both species, the seminal receptacles are paired globular structures of ecto-mesodermal origin. The mesoderm-derived region is lined by a stratified epithelium. The anchoring, proliferative, and secretory strata are clearly recognizable. The ectodermderived region is lined by a simple cylindrical epithelium underlying a cuticle that increases in thickness toward the vagina. The transition between the ectoderm and mesoderm-derived regions is abrupt, with differences between the studied species: Li. spinosa has a "velum," whereas Le. tuberculosus presents prominent "folds." In both species, the position in which the oviduct is connected to the seminal receptacles is intermediate between the dorsal and ventral types previously described in other eubrachyurans. The seminal receptacles of the studied species show four different conditions, which can be distinguished macroscopically based on their shape and amount of sperm stored. We compare our data with those from other Majoidea in an attempt to determine whether the morphology of the seminal receptacles is related to different mating strategies or behaviors.Additional key words: reproductive anatomy, histology, crustacean, decapod Studies of reproductive morphology in a phylogenetic framework can answer questions about the coevolution of anatomy, mating behaviors, and fertilization mechanisms (Wortham-Neal 2002). In many species, including some crustaceans, there is a correlation between the morphology of the sperm-storage chambers and the pattern of sperm precedence (last/ first mate) at fertilization, the arrangement of stored ejaculates within the seminal receptacles (SR), and the molt status of females at mating (Parker 1970; Diesel 1991;Sainte-Marie 2007).The female genital ducts of eubrachyuran crabs extend from the ovary to the vulva (Hartnoll 1968). The ovary releases the oocytes into the oviducts, which lead them to the SR. Each SR connects ventrally with a vagina, which opens to the exterior through the sternal vulva (Hartnoll 1968; Diesel 1991;Guinot & Quenette 2005). The SR are classified into two types according to the position in which the oviducts are connected to them: the dorsal type (dorsal-type SR) and the ventral type (ventral-type SR) (Diesel 1991). In the dorsal-type SR, the opening of each oviduct is located more or less dorsal to the seminal receptacle, and the vagina lies ventrally (e.g., Portunidae and Xanthidae: Diesel 1991). In the ventral type, both oviduct and vagina open into the ventral region of the SR, close to each other (e.g., Calappidae, Geryonidae, Leucosiidae, Parthenopidae, Parathelphusidae, Corystidae, Ocypodidae, and some species of Majoidea: Diese...

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Some crustaceans show variations of their reproductive biology within their geographical distribution, and knowledge about such variations is important for the comprehension of their reproductive adaptations. This study compared two populations of the fiddler crab Uca uruguayensis from two locations on the south-western Atlantic coast: Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil and Samborombón Bay, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The population features analysed were the body size variation (carapace width ¼ CW) and the size at the onset of sexual maturity (SOM) in order to test the hypothesis that the size at SOM, should be the same in relative terms (RSOM), independently of the latitudinal position. In the Brazilian population the CW ranged from 4.18 to 11.60 mm for males and 3.90 to 9.80 mm for females, and in the Argentinean population from 3.60 to 14.10 mm for males and 2.85 to 12.00 mm for females. In the Brazilian population the SOM was 7.1 (RSOM ¼ 0.58) and 5.9 mm CW (RSOM ¼ 0.57) for males and females, respectively, and in the Argentinean population it was 7.0 (RSOM ¼ 0.42) and 6.75 mm CW (RSOM ¼ 0.53) for males and females, respectively. This fact is probably related to a great plasticity in the life history features of Uca uruguayensis under different environmental conditions.