Sexual maturity and reproductive period of the swimming blue crab Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Brachyura: Portunidae) from Guaratuba Bay, Paraná State, southern Brazil

Marochi, Murilo Zanetti; Moreto, Thaís Fernanda; Lacerda, Mariana Baptista; Trevisan, André; Masunari, Setuko

Abstract

This work aims to estimate the average size at the onset of morphological and physiological sexual maturity and the reproductive period of Callinectes danae. Specimens were captured from a shrimp fishing boat equipped with a trawl net from March 2009 to February 2010. After sorting, crabs were sexed, and the following morphometric dimensions were measured: carapace width (CW), length and height of the major (MAP and HMAP), and the minor cheliped propodus (MIP and HMIP) for both sexes, and the abdominal width for females (AW). The onset of morphological maturity was estimated with the REGRANS program, in which the inflection point is calculated. The size at the onset of physiological maturity was determined by logistic regressions fitted to the relationships between the percentages of juvenile and adult individuals of each CW. A total of 893 individuals were sampled. Of these individuals, 389 were males, 472 non-ovigerous females, and 32 ovigerous females. The CW ranged from 19.81 to 117.17 mm for males, 19.91 to 113.11 mm for non-ovigerous females, and 70.55 to 88.60 mm for ovigerous females. Morphological sexual maturity was attained at 86.47 mm CW (males) and 67.87 mm CW (females). The size at the onset of physiological maturity was calculated to be 86.50 mm CW (males) and 67.00 mm CW (females). Due to the closeness of these values, both techniques were deemed suitable for determination of the onset of sexual maturity in C. danae. This species reproduces throughout the year, but reproduction is more intense during the winter. Mature males are present throughout the year. Data from this investigation will help resource managers to develop strategies that will ensure a sustainable harvest of this important species of swimming crab in southern Brazil.

Relative growth; physiological maturity; gonadal maturity

References

Annala, J.H.; Mckoy, J.L.; Booth, J.D. and Pike, R.B. 1980. Size at the onset of sexual maturity in female Jasus edwardsii (Decapoda: Palinuridae) in the New Zealand. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 14(13): 217-221.
Araújo, M.S.L.C.; Negromonte, A.O.; Barreto, A.V. and Castiglioni, D. 2012. Sexual maturity of the swimming crab Callinectes danae (Crustacea: Portunidae) at Santa Cruz Channel, a tropical coastal environment. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92(2): 287-293.
Baptista-Metri, C.; Pinheiro, M.A.A.; Blankensteyn, A. and Borzone, C.A. 2005. Biologia populacional e reprodutiva de Callinectes danae Smith (Crustacea: Portunidae), no Balneário Shangri-lá, Pontal do Paraná (PR), Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 22: 446-453.
Barreto, A.V.; Batista-Leite, L.M.A. and Aguiar, M.C.A. 2006. Maturidade sexual das fêmeas de Callinectes danae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) nos estuários dos rios Botafogo e Carrapicho, Itamaracá, PE, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 96(2): 141-146.
Branco, J.O. and Thives, A. 1991. Relação peso/largura, fator de condição e tamanho de primeira maturação de Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Crustacea: Portunidae) no manguezal do Itacorubi, SC, Brasil. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 34: 415-424.
Branco, J.O. and Masunari, S. 2000. Reproductive ecology of the blue crab Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 in the Conceição Lagoon system, Santa Catarina Isle, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 60: 17-27.
Chacur, M.M.; Mansur, C.B. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. 2000. Distributional patterns, seasonal abundance and moult cycle of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 in the Ubatuba region, Brazil. Nauplius, 8(2): 215-226.
Chacur, M.M. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. 2001. Spatial and seasonal distributions of Callinectes danae (Decapoda, Portunidae) in Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 21(2): 414-425.
Coelho, P.A. and Santos, M.C.F. 2004. Siris do estuário do rio Una, São José da Coroa Grande, Pernambuco - Brasil (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae). Boletim Técnico Científico CEPENE, 12(1): 187-194.
Corgos, A. and Freire, J. 2006. Morphometric and gonad maturity in the spider crab: a comparison of methods for estimating size at maturity in species with determinate growth. Journal of Marine Science, 63: 851-859.
Costa, T.M. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. 1998. The reproductive cycle of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Decapoda, Portunidae) in the Ubatuba Region, Brazil. Crustaceana, 71(6): 615-627.
Garcez, D.S. and Sánchez-Botero, J.I. 2005. Comunidades de pescadores artesanais no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Atlântica, 27(1): 17-29.
Giménez, E. and Acevedo, M. 1982. Relaciones morfométricas y talla de primera maduración del cangrejo de tierra Cardisoma guanhumi Latreille em La Ciénega de Zapata. Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Pesqueras, 7: 18-37.
González-Gurriarán, E. and Freire, J. 1994. Sexual maturity in the velvet swimming crab Necora puber (Brachyura, Portunidae): morphometric and reproductive analysis. Journal of Marine Science, 51: 133-145.
Hartnoll, R.G. 1974. Variation in growth patterns between some secondary sexual characters in crabs. Crustaceana, 27: 131-136.
Hartnoll, R.G. 1978. The determination of relative growth in Crustacea. Crustaceana, 34: 281-293.
Hartnoll, R.G. 1982. Growth. p. 11-196. In: D.E. Bliss (ed.). The Biology of Crustacea: Embryology, Morphology and Genetics. New York, Academic Press.
Hartnoll, R.G. 1985. Growth, sexual maturity and reproductive output. p. 15-17. In: A. M. Wenner (ed.). Factors in Adult Growth.
Huxley, J.S. 1950. Relative growth and form transformation. Proceedings of the Royal Society London 137(B): 465-469.
IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais e Renováveis). 1983. Portaria SUDEPE nº N-24, de 26 de julho de 1983. Disponível em: <http://www.pesca.sp.gov.br/leg_n24.php>. Acesso em: abril de 2012.
Melo, G.A.S. 1996. Manual de Identificação dos Brachyura (caranguejos e siris) do litoral brasileiro. São Paulo, Plêiade, 603p.
Oh, C.W. and Hartnoll, R.G. 1999. Size at sexual maturity, reproductive output, and seasonal reproduction of Philocheras trispinosus (Decapoda) in Port Erin Bay, Isle of Man. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 19(2): 252-259.
Pagano, M. and Gauvreau, K. 2006. Princípios de Bioestatística. Thompson, São Paulo, Brasil. 506p.
Pezzuto, P.R. 1993. REGRANS: a "basic" program for an extensive analysis of relative growth. Atlântica, 15: 91-105.
Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Fransozo, A. 1993. Relative growth of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Brachyura, Portunidae), near Ubatuba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Crustaceana, 65: 365-376.
Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Fransozo, A. 1998. Sexual maturity of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae), in the Ubatuba littoral, São Paulo State, Brazil. Crustaceana, 71: 434-452.
Pinheiro, M.A.A and Fransozo, A. 2002. Reproduction of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Brachyura: Portunidae) on the Brazilian coast near 23° 30'S. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 22(2): 416-428.
Pita, J.B.; Rodrigues, E. S.; Graça-Lopes, R. and Coelho, J.A.P. 1985. Observações bioecológicas sobre o siri Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Crustacea, Portunidae), no Complexo Baía-Estuário de Santos, Brasil). Boletim do Instituto de Pesca, 12(4): 35-43.
Rodrigues, M.A. and D´Incao, F. 2008. Comparação do crescimento entre Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) coletados em campo e mantidos em condições controladas. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 98(3): 372-378.
Sampaio, S.R. 2009. Distribuição dos siris e biologia reprodutiva de Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Decapoda, Portunidae) na Baía de Guaratuba e área costeira adjacente, Paraná, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Master Dissertation. 82p. [Unpublished].
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, J.F. 1979. Biometry. 3rd ed. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York.
Tessier, G. 1960. Relative growth. 473-536p. In: Waterman T.H (ed.). The Physiology of Crustacea. New York: Academic Press.
Tsuchida, S. and Fujikura, K. 2000. Heterochely, relative growth and gonopod morphology in the bythograeid crab, Austinograea williamsi (Decapoda, Brachyura). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 20: 407-414.
Van Engel, W.A. 1985. The blue crab and its fishery in Chesapeake Bay. I. Reproduction, early development, growth, and migration. Commercial Fisheries Review, 20: 6-17.
Wenner, A.M.; Fusaro, C. and Oaten, A. 1974. Size at onset of sexual maturity and growth rate in crustacean populations. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 52: 1095-1106.
Yomar-Hattori, G.; Sampaio-Sant'anna, B. and Pinheiro, M.A.A. 2006. Meat yield of Callinectes bocourti A. Milne-Edwards, 1879 (Crustacea, Portunidae) in Iguape, São Paulo, Brazil. Investigaciones Marinas, 34(2): 231-236.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
27 Jan 2015
Date of issue
June 2013

History

Received
11 May 2012
Accepted
18 Feb 2013

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] Annala, J.H.; Mckoy, J.L.; Booth, J.D. and Pike, R.B. 1980. Size at the onset of sexual maturity in female Jasus edwardsii (Decapoda: Palinuridae) in the New Zealand. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 14(13): 217-221.

[2] Araújo, M.S.L.C.; Negromonte, A.O.; Barreto, A.V. and Castiglioni, D. 2012. Sexual maturity of the swimming crab Callinectes danae (Crustacea: Portunidae) at Santa Cruz Channel, a tropical coastal environment. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92(2): 287-293.

[3] Baptista-Metri, C.; Pinheiro, M.A.A.; Blankensteyn, A. and Borzone, C.A. 2005. Biologia populacional e reprodutiva de Callinectes danae Smith (Crustacea: Portunidae), no Balneário Shangri-lá, Pontal do Paraná (PR), Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 22: 446-453.

[4] Barreto, A.V.; Batista-Leite, L.M.A. and Aguiar, M.C.A. 2006. Maturidade sexual das fêmeas de Callinectes danae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) nos estuários dos rios Botafogo e Carrapicho, Itamaracá, PE, Brasil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 96(2): 141-146.

[5] Branco, J.O. and Thives, A. 1991. Relação peso/largura, fator de condição e tamanho de primeira maturação de Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Crustacea: Portunidae) no manguezal do Itacorubi, SC, Brasil. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 34: 415-424.

[6] Branco, J.O. and Masunari, S. 2000. Reproductive ecology of the blue crab Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 in the Conceição Lagoon system, Santa Catarina Isle, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 60: 17-27.

[7] Chacur, M.M.; Mansur, C.B. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. 2000. Distributional patterns, seasonal abundance and moult cycle of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 in the Ubatuba region, Brazil. Nauplius, 8(2): 215-226.

[8] Chacur, M.M. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. 2001. Spatial and seasonal distributions of Callinectes danae (Decapoda, Portunidae) in Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 21(2): 414-425.

[9] Coelho, P.A. and Santos, M.C.F. 2004. Siris do estuário do rio Una, São José da Coroa Grande, Pernambuco - Brasil (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae). Boletim Técnico Científico CEPENE, 12(1): 187-194.

[10] Corgos, A. and Freire, J. 2006. Morphometric and gonad maturity in the spider crab: a comparison of methods for estimating size at maturity in species with determinate growth. Journal of Marine Science, 63: 851-859.

[11] Costa, T.M. and Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. 1998. The reproductive cycle of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Decapoda, Portunidae) in the Ubatuba Region, Brazil. Crustaceana, 71(6): 615-627.

[12] Garcez, D.S. and Sánchez-Botero, J.I. 2005. Comunidades de pescadores artesanais no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Atlântica, 27(1): 17-29.

[13] Giménez, E. and Acevedo, M. 1982. Relaciones morfométricas y talla de primera maduración del cangrejo de tierra Cardisoma guanhumi Latreille em La Ciénega de Zapata. Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Pesqueras, 7: 18-37.

[14] González-Gurriarán, E. and Freire, J. 1994. Sexual maturity in the velvet swimming crab Necora puber (Brachyura, Portunidae): morphometric and reproductive analysis. Journal of Marine Science, 51: 133-145.

[15] Hartnoll, R.G. 1974. Variation in growth patterns between some secondary sexual characters in crabs. Crustaceana, 27: 131-136.

[16] Hartnoll, R.G. 1978. The determination of relative growth in Crustacea. Crustaceana, 34: 281-293.

[17] Hartnoll, R.G. 1982. Growth. p. 11-196. In: D.E. Bliss (ed.). The Biology of Crustacea: Embryology, Morphology and Genetics. New York, Academic Press.

[18] Hartnoll, R.G. 1985. Growth, sexual maturity and reproductive output. p. 15-17. In: A. M. Wenner (ed.). Factors in Adult Growth.

[19] Huxley, J.S. 1950. Relative growth and form transformation. Proceedings of the Royal Society London 137(B): 465-469.

[20] IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais e Renováveis). 1983. Portaria SUDEPE nº N-24, de 26 de julho de 1983. Disponível em: <http://www.pesca.sp.gov.br/leg_n24.php>. Acesso em: abril de 2012.

[21] Melo, G.A.S. 1996. Manual de Identificação dos Brachyura (caranguejos e siris) do litoral brasileiro. São Paulo, Plêiade, 603p.

[22] Oh, C.W. and Hartnoll, R.G. 1999. Size at sexual maturity, reproductive output, and seasonal reproduction of Philocheras trispinosus (Decapoda) in Port Erin Bay, Isle of Man. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 19(2): 252-259.

[23] Pagano, M. and Gauvreau, K. 2006. Princípios de Bioestatística. Thompson, São Paulo, Brasil. 506p.

[24] Pezzuto, P.R. 1993. REGRANS: a "basic" program for an extensive analysis of relative growth. Atlântica, 15: 91-105.

[25] Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Fransozo, A. 1993. Relative growth of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Brachyura, Portunidae), near Ubatuba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Crustaceana, 65: 365-376.

[26] Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Fransozo, A. 1998. Sexual maturity of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae), in the Ubatuba littoral, São Paulo State, Brazil. Crustaceana, 71: 434-452.

[27] Pinheiro, M.A.A and Fransozo, A. 2002. Reproduction of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Brachyura: Portunidae) on the Brazilian coast near 23° 30'S. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 22(2): 416-428.

[28] Pita, J.B.; Rodrigues, E. S.; Graça-Lopes, R. and Coelho, J.A.P. 1985. Observações bioecológicas sobre o siri Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Crustacea, Portunidae), no Complexo Baía-Estuário de Santos, Brasil). Boletim do Instituto de Pesca, 12(4): 35-43.

[29] Rodrigues, M.A. and D´Incao, F. 2008. Comparação do crescimento entre Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) coletados em campo e mantidos em condições controladas. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 98(3): 372-378.

[30] Sampaio, S.R. 2009. Distribuição dos siris e biologia reprodutiva de Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Decapoda, Portunidae) na Baía de Guaratuba e área costeira adjacente, Paraná, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Master Dissertation. 82p. [Unpublished].

[31] Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, J.F. 1979. Biometry. 3rd ed. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York.

[32] Tessier, G. 1960. Relative growth. 473-536p. In: Waterman T.H (ed.). The Physiology of Crustacea. New York: Academic Press.

[33] Tsuchida, S. and Fujikura, K. 2000. Heterochely, relative growth and gonopod morphology in the bythograeid crab, Austinograea williamsi (Decapoda, Brachyura). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 20: 407-414.

[34] Van Engel, W.A. 1985. The blue crab and its fishery in Chesapeake Bay. I. Reproduction, early development, growth, and migration. Commercial Fisheries Review, 20: 6-17.

[35] Wenner, A.M.; Fusaro, C. and Oaten, A. 1974. Size at onset of sexual maturity and growth rate in crustacean populations. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 52: 1095-1106.

[36] Yomar-Hattori, G.; Sampaio-Sant'anna, B. and Pinheiro, M.A.A. 2006. Meat yield of Callinectes bocourti A. Milne-Edwards, 1879 (Crustacea, Portunidae) in Iguape, São Paulo, Brazil. Investigaciones Marinas, 34(2): 231-236.