Resumo

CASTIGLIONI, Daniela da Silva; SILVA-CASTIGLIONI, Daiana da  e  OLIVEIRA, Paloma Joana Albuquerque de. Reproductive biology of Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ucididae) in two mangrove areas from the south coast of state of Pernambuco, Brazil. RGCI [online]. 2013, vol.13, n.4, pp.433-444. ISSN 1646-8872.  https://doi.org/10.5894/rgci400.

The mangrove crab Ucides cordatus is a typical species of the estuarine environment with significant economic importance in the Brazilian coast, but overfishing and destruction of mangroves have dramatically reducing their populations. Studies about reproduction have been conducted in several regions, although those papers carried out in the mangroves of state of Pernambuco are scarce or old. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the reproductive period of Ucides cordatus through the analysis of gonadal development and the frequency of ovigerous females. The crabs were collected manually during low tide in two different areas (each 25 m²) from April 2008 to March 2009. A total of 1,424 specimens (Mamacabas = 805; Ariquindá = 619) were sampled. The sampled crabs were observed for sex, dissected and evaluated for stages of development of the gonads through the size and color. Crabs with immature and rudimentary gonads were considered immature and the remaining crabs were classified as mature. Males with mature gonads occurred throughout the year but they were more frequent in spring and summer in Mamucabas and Ariquindá, respectively. Females with mature gonads were found throughout the year but were more frequently in autumn and summer, as well as ovigerous females occurred only in summer and autumn in both populations. These results characterize seasonal reproduction for Ucides cordatus in the analyzed populations following the reproductive pattern already described for this species in other regions of Brazil.

Palavras-chave : mangrove crab; ovigerous females; gonadal development; reproduction.

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