Checklist of the brachyuran crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda) in the rocky subtidal of Vitória Archipelago, southeast coast of Brazil

Abstract

Biodiversity can be useful as an ecosystem indicator for conservation and monitoring, through continuous assessment of its main properties including stability, primary productivity, exploitation tolerance and even global environmental changes. The main purpose of this study was to provide a checklist of the crabs associated with subtidal rocky bottoms at the Vitoria Archipelago, southeastern Brazilian coast. Monthly collections were carried out from February 2004 through January 2006 on three islands at the Vitória Archipelago (23°44’S-45°01’W). The crabs were hand-caught by SCUBA divers during the daytime, in rock subtidal. A total of 3084 individuals were caught, belonging to 42 species, 28 genera, and 12 families, highlighting Mithraculus forceps (1528) and Stenorhynchus seticornis (407) representing more than 60% of the sample. On the other hand, Dromia erythropus, Moreiradromia antilensis, Ebalia stimpsoni, Garthiope spinipes and Tumidotheres maculatus had only one individual sampled.

New records of caridean shrimps, Lysmata ankeri and L. cf. intermedia, from southeast coast of Brazil

“…The absence of records of these species until the present is likely due to their cryptic habit, as well as to low collection efforts in the rocky subtidal of this region (e.g., Mantelatto et al, 2004aMantelatto et al, , 2004bCobo, 2006;Alves et al, 2011;Alves et al, 2012). However, the possibility remains that these shrimps crossed this biological filter through accidental transport, such as in ballast water, as previously recorded for other species of decapod crustaceans (e.g., Mantelatto & Dias 1999;Alves et al, 2006;Tavares, 2011).…”

Ecological distribution and population features of Hexapanopeus paulensis Rathbun, 1930 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Xanthoidea) caught by bottom trawling in the southeastern coast of Brazil: implications for its population structure

“…In the present study, a deviation from 1:1 in favor of the females was recorded for H. paulensis. Alves et al (2012) also observed the occurrence of an elevated number of females compared to males of the same species, but in a consolidated substrate. Such deviations might indicate a common pattern for H. paulensis in the study region.…”

“…The occurrence of individuals in the stations nearer to the continent and exposed to wave action (7.5 and 10 m) was remarkable in this study. This is probably due to their proximity to the rocky shores, where H. paulensis is frequently found (Alves et al, 2012) as this kind of habitat receives deposits of allochthonous material from the continent and small rivers.…”

“…Fransozo et al (2013) performed the only populational study on a xanthoid crab analyzing the ecological distribution and population structure of Acantholobulus schmitti (Rathbun, 1930). Alves et al (2012) published a checklist of Brachyuran species which provides some information about xanthoid crabs (including H. paulensis), such as the total abundance and average size of the individuals.…”

Composition, density, and shell use of hermit crabs (Crustacea: Paguroidea) from subtidal boulder fields in southeastern Brazil

“…During the last decade, an increasing number of studies in Brazil with decapods were made using scuba diving (Bouzon & Freire, 2007;Alves et al, 2012;Giraldes et al, 2015;Soledade et al, 2015).…”