Physiologic sexual maturity of the fiddler crab Uca rapax (Smith, 1870) (crustacea, ocypodidae) from two mangroves in Ubatuba, Brazil

The gonad development of Uca rapax was studied to achieve the size at onset of its sexual maturity. Crabs were sampled from April/2001 to March/2002 in the Itamambuca and Ubatumirim mangroves in Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. The specimens were grouped in 10 size classes. Juveniles and adult crabs freq...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Castiglioni, Daniela Da Silva, Negreiros-Fransozo, Maria Lucia [UNESP]
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2006
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UNESP
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unesp.br:11449/68798
Acceso en línea:http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-89132006000300009
http://hdl.handle.net/11449/68798
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mangroves
Maturity
Ocypodidae
Uca rapax
Crustacea
Decapoda (Crustacea)
Rhizophoraceae
Descripción
Sumario:The gonad development of Uca rapax was studied to achieve the size at onset of its sexual maturity. Crabs were sampled from April/2001 to March/2002 in the Itamambuca and Ubatumirim mangroves in Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. The specimens were grouped in 10 size classes. Juveniles and adult crabs frequencies were assessed for each class. The size of carapace width in which 50% of males and females were considered mature was 14.8 and 12.1 mm (Itamambuca) and 13.6 and 11.4 mm (Ubatumirim), respectively for males and females. Males matured at higher sizes than females, probably due to a major investment in their somatic growth, while females spend their energy in the reproductive process, saving energy for eggs' production.