Abundance and distribution of Portunidae larval phases (Crustacea: Brachyura) in the estuarine and coastal region of the Patos Lagoon, southern Brazil

ABSTRACT: The abundance and distribution of larval phases of the Portunidae found in the estuary of the Patos Lagoon and the coastal region were studied during two years (1995 and 1999). A conical net (165 cm long, 60 cm mouth, and 330 µm mesh) equipped with a flowmeter was towed for three minutes at 2 knots at six stations within the estuary and four stations in the coastal region. Samplings were carried out on the surface and near the bottom. At each sampling location, the salinity and temperature were also recorded. In 1995, the zoeae of Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818), Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 and Achelous spinicarpus Stimpson, 1871 were caught, resulting in a total abundance of 121.98 ind.100 m-3 (90.95 ind.100 m-3 on the surface and 31.03 ind.100 m-3 near the bottom). A total of 452.27 ind.100 m-3 were caught in the megalopa phase (13.49 ind.100 m-3 on the surface and 438.78 ind.100 m-3 near the bottom). In 1999, only zoeae of C. sapidus were caught, resulting in a total abundance of 419.78 ind.100 m-3 (386.98 ind.100 m-3 on the surface and 32.8 ind.100 m-3 near the bottom). Megalopae of these three species were caught, resulting in a total abundance of 179.91 ind.100 m-3 (25.38 ind.100 m-3 on surface and 154.53 ind.100 m-3 near the bottom). Summer was the season with the highest abundance of larvae in both years. During spring and summer, spawning was observed in the estuarine region of the Patos Lagoon.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Vieira,Rony Roberto Ramos, Calazans,Danilo Koetz de
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Carcinologia 2015
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-64972015000200132
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