Diversity and biology of species of Portunidae (Decapoda, Brachyura) in the estuarine-lagunar complex of Iguape, Ilha Comprida and Cananéia, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Swimming crabs of the Portunidae family are common in the water coast of tropical and subtropical regions, in mud and sand bottoms. They play an important role in the trophic relationship of the benthic communities, which, in turn, influence their patterns of distribution, migration, ecdysis and reproduction. Many species of this family have an economic value to the artisanal fishery in the Estuarine-lagunar Complex of Iguape, Ilha Comprida and Cananéia. Between January 1997 and May 2001, 4,610 swimming crabs of the Portunidae family were studied. The samples were obtained in nine stations in the estuarine zone between Cananéia and Comprida isle and Iguape city (São Paulo State coast, Brazil) using three types of fishery devices: "collapsible trap" "puçá†and "beach trawl netâ€Â. Ten species were identified: Ovalipes trimaculatus (De Haan, 1833); Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818); Callinectes bocourti A. Milne-Edwards, 1879; Callinectes danae Smith, 1869; Callinectes exasperatus (Gerstaecker, 1856); Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863; Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896; Cronius ruber (Lamarck, 1818); Portunus spinimanus Latreille, 1819 and Charybdis hellerii (A. Milne-Edwards, 1867). For the most abundant species (C. danae, C. sapidus e C. ornatus), space occupation and migration models were proposed according to different population layers related to the reproductive cycle and the water salinity, once there is a direct relationship between spawning and saline waters for these Portunidae.