Decapod crustacean associations with scyphozoan jellyfish (Rhizostomeae: Pelagiidae) in the Southeastern Brazilian coast

Abstract

In southeastern Brazil, decapod crustaceans were found living in association with the scyphozoan jellyfish. In total, 2002 specimens of the Scyphozoa Lychnorhiza lucerna were collected of which 511 were associated decapods that were identified as three species of the crab Libinia ferreirae, Libinia spinosa, and one Grapsoidea sp. and two species of caridean shrimps Periclimenes paivai and Leander paulensis. This is the first record of an association between the caridean shrimp L. paulensis and a scyphozoan and the first report of symbioses involving the crabs L. spinosa and Grapsoidea sp. on the Brazilian coast.

Host-use pattern of the shrimp Periclimenes paivai on the scyphozoan jellyfish Lychnorhiza lucerna: probing for territoriality and inferring its mating system

“…The random population distribution of P. paivai on the jellyfish L. lucerna agrees with that reported for other ectosymbiotic crustaceans that are not territorial and live in aggregations on their host individuals (caridean shrimps: Ancylomenes pedersoni (Chace, 1958) [52], Periclimenes antipathophilus Spotte, Heard & Bubucis, 1994 [53], Periclimenes patae Heard & Spotte, 1991 [54] and Thor amboinensis [18]; other crustaceans: Petrolisthes mitra [6], and Dissodactylus primitivus Bouvier, 1917 [21]). Our observations also agree with previous studies conducted in other localities that have reported P. paivai living gregariously on the surface of the same or a different host species (e.g., [33,34]). By contrast to that observed in P. paivai, territorial species display a uniform population distribution and live solitarily (or in male-female pairs) in/on their respective host species with a frequency greater than expected by chance alone [25,27,55].…”

“…Periclimenes paivai is a small shrimp (maximum size = 9.2 mm CL [carapace length]- [32][33][34]), endemic to the western Atlantic coast, and is restricted to shallow waters from Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina, Brazil [35,36]. Periclimenes paivai has been considered a facultative commensal shrimp [33].…”

“…However, there are no records of P. paivai exhibiting a free-living lifestyle [35,36]. Periclimenes paivai is the only Brazilian species in the genus found on the surface of scyphozoan jellyfish; Phyllorhiza punctata von Lendenfeld, 1884 (as Mastigias sp.- [32]), L. lucerna, and Chrysaora lactea Eschscholtz, 1829 [33,34]. Lychnorhiza lucerna is the most abundant rhizostome in the southern Atlantic coast of South America [37], especially in the austral spring and summer, when this jellyfish form blooms [38,39].…”

“…Limited information suggests that shrimps are indeed often found living in groups in jellyfish [33,34]. Nonetheless, detailed studies describing group composition, population distribution, and male-female association pattern of this symbiotic species are lacking.…”

Growth and longevity of the spider crab Libinia ferreirae (Majoidea, Epialtidae)

“…To date, studies on this spider crab L. ferreirae have addressed their larval development (Anger et al, 1989;Bakker et al, 1990), symbiotic relationships (Nogueira Jr. and Haddad, 2005;Winter and Masunari, 2006;Gonçalves et al, 2016;2017b), morphology and maturity (Tavares and Santana, 2012;Gonçalves et al, 2017a) and distribution (Braga et al, 2007). However, little is known about the growth of this species.…”