Spatial and temporal distribution of decapod larvae in the subtropical waters of the Arvoredo archipelago, SC, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The present paper aims to describe the temporal and spatial distribution of the composition and abundance of Decapoda larvae in the shallow waters around Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve. Stomatopod occurrence is also discussed. Plankton samples were collected at five sites around the Arvoredo Island every two months for one year from May, 2002 to April, 2003. Thirty-nine morphotypes, 11 genus and 4 species (Artemesia longinaris Bate, 1888, Hexapanopeus schmitii Rathbun, 1930, Menippe nodifrons Stimpson, 1859 and Pleoticus muelleri Bate, 1888) were identified, among them only two morphotypes of Stomatopoda larvae, and the remainder Decapoda larvae. Brachyuran zoeae were the most abundant group and they were well represented by Portunidae and Xanthidae zoeae. Lucifer sp. and Caridea zoeae were the most abundant non-brachyuran taxa. Decapod larvae were observed to occur at all sampling sites, however the spatial distribution demonstrated a general tendency to greater abundance and diversity at the southern sites of the Island. Decapoda and Stomatopoda larvae occurred throughout the year, showing that reproduction is continuous, but that larval input in planktonic community was significantly higher during autumn and spring.KEYWORDS. Decapods, crustaceans, meroplankton, distribution, Brazil.

The holoplankton of the Santa Catarina coast, southern Brazil

“…The check list for this work did not include the meroplankton occurring on the Santa Catarina coast, which can be obtained in works with the larvae of Cirripedia, by Severino and Resgalla Jr (2005), larvae of Decapoda, by Koettker and Freire (2006) For the classification of species by type of water of occurrence, TS-P (Temperature, Salinity and Plankton) diagrams were created for the main coastal environments of Santa Catarina involving all the sampling periods and the records of species observed, thereby delimiting the representative groups of the coastal and oceanic areas, as well as the warm and cold waters.…”

Spatio-temporal variation of planktonic decapods along the leeward coast of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil

“…However, many of these organisms present a planktonic larval phase, with specific adaptive mechanisms that permit this way of life (Williamson, 1969;Anger, 2001). During their larval stage marine decapods are dispersed by the displacement of water masses (Scheltema, 1988;Strathmann et al, 2002;Koettker and Freire, 2006). The distribution of these organisms is largely influenced by environmental factors such as currents, temperature, salinity, nutrients, light, food availability and duration of the larval cycle.…”

Abundância das larvas de Porcellanidae (Decapoda, Anomura) no meroplâncton do estuário do Rio Caeté, estuário amazônico brasileiro

“…Similarmente, as larvas do caranguejo Libinia spinosa (Milne-Edwards, 1834) estudadas por Hereu & Calazans (2001) no sul do país, apresentaram maiores abundâncias também no verão, época mais chuvosa, e as larvas de camarão Xiphopenaeus kroyeri foram mais abundantes no verão e outono na costa do Paraná (Fehlauer & Freire, 2002). Por outro lado, também foram relatados picos de densidade larval de decápodes na primavera e outono (Koettker & Freire, 2006). Segundo Rieger & D'Incao (1991), a ocorrên-cia das larvas de decápodes depende da duração do período de reprodução da população adulta.…”

“…Segundo Rieger & D'Incao (1991), a ocorrên-cia das larvas de decápodes depende da duração do período de reprodução da população adulta. Nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais a maioria das espécies de decápodes tem reprodução continua ao longo do ano, com picos de maior intensidade reprodutiva em alguns períodos, evidenciada, por exemplo, pelos picos de densidade larval (Koettker & Freire, 2006), ou pela frequência de fêmeas ovígeras nas comunidades bentônicas (Sant'anna et al, 2009;Miranda & Mantelatto, 2009). E m b o r a a e s t r u t u r a p o p u l a c i o n a l d e Porcellanidae seja desconhecida para o estuário do Rio Caeté, os dois picos gerais de abundância das larvas (um na seca em junho/00, outro na chuvosa em novembro/00 e outubro/00), mostram intensos períodos de recrutamento no final do período chuvoso e no final do período seco.…”

“…O meroplâncton constitui um importante e, muitas vezes, a parte dominante do mesozooplâncton em ambientes neríticos e estuarinos (Coyle & Poul, 1990). Para a costa brasileira, as informações acerca da distribuição e da abundância do meroplâncton são, em geral, restritas a estudos amplos de zooplâncton, sendo relativamente mais escassas contribuições específicas sobre larvas de decápodes (Hereu & Calazans, 2001;Schwamborn et al, 2001;Fernandes et al, 2002;Koettker & Freire, 2006;Silva-Falcão et al, 2007;Koettker et al, 2010).…”