Abundance and distribution of the swimming crabCallinectes danaeSmith, 1869 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) in the Ubatuba region, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

This study analysed the spatio-temporal distribution of Callinectes danae considering some environmental factors in three bays in Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil: Ubatumirim, Ubatuba and Mar Virado. Sampling was performed monthly (from January 1998 to December 1999) using a shrimp fishery boat provided with double rig nets. Six transects were established in each bay, three being in areas protected from wave action (at 5, 7.5 and 10 m depth) and three in exposed areas (at 10, 15 and 20 m). A total of 3039 specimens were obtained. The distribution of C. danae differed between years, among seasons, bays and transects (K-W; p < 0.05). This species occurred with a higher abundance in the shallow transects of all bays studied. These transects were characterized by substrate composed of fine or very fine sand and by silt and clay, higher values of bottom temperature and lower salinity values. Based on canonical correspondence analysis, the most relevant environmental factors for the spatio-temporal distribution of C. danae, in addition to salinity, were the bottom-water temperature and the sediment texture.

Environmental factors modulating the bathymetric distribution of the demographic groups of Achelous spinimanus&nbsp;(Crustacea)

“…To conclude, this study showed that, as reported for C. ornatus (Andrade et al, 2014) and C. danae (Barreto et al, 2006 andAntunes et al, 2015), juveniles and adults of A. spinimanus were distributed differently between depths and months, corroborating our hypothesis. Juveniles were widely distributed, from shallower areas 5 m deep to areas 35 m deep, and were more abundant in summer, whereas adults were more abundant at greater depths (20−25 m), in winter and spring.…”

“…According to Hines et al (1987), the high number of juveniles at shallower depths may be related to the greater availability of shelter and food. A higher abundance of juveniles at lower depths was also observed by Santos et al (1995) with A. spinimanus, Heck et al (2001 with Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896, Andrade et al (2014) with C. ornatus and Antunes et al (2015) with C. danae.…”

“…Despite all these studies with A. spinimanus, nothing is known about the spatiotemporal distribution of its demographic groups. A differential spatio-temporal distribution for demographic groups has been reported for other swimming crabs such as Callinectes ornatus Ordway 1863 (Andrade et al, 2014), Callinectes danae Smith 1869 (Barreto et al, 2006 andAntunes et al, 2015) and Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck 1818) (Silva et al, 2018). In view of that, we believe that A. spinimanus also shows this pattern.…”

“…According to Bertini and Fransozo (2004b) the swimming crabs A. cribrarius, C. danae, and C. ornatus are very abundant in the depths of 5−15 m (inside the bay). Moreover, C. danae and C. ornatus show agonistic behavior and territorialism, which hinders the establishment of other species (Andrade et al, 2014, Antunes et al, 2015. Thus, adults of A. spinimanus may have settled mainly outside the bay (at 20 m of depth and below) to avoid competition with these species.…”

Modulating factors of the abundance and distribution of Achelous spinimanus (Latreille, 1819) (Decapoda, Portunoidea), a fishery resource, in Southeastern Brazil

“…For instance, Santos, Negreiros-Fransozo & Fransozo (1994) and Pinheiro, Fransozo & Negreiros-Fransozo (1996) observed that the distributions of A. spinimanus and Arenaeus cribarius (Lamarck, 1818), respectively, were associated with sediment texture. Pinheiro, Fransozo & Negreiros-Fransozo (1997) ; Santos (2000) , Chacur & Negreiros-Fransozo (2001) , Andrade et al (2013) ; Andrade et al (2014) , Lima et al (2014) , Martins et al (2014) , and Antunes et al (2015) related the distribution of Portunoidea with bottom temperature.…”