Home > GCR > Vol. 19 > Iss. 1 (2007)
Alternate Title
Breeding Season and Molt Cycle of the Fiddler Crab Uca rapax (Brachyura, Ocypodidae) in a Subtropical Estuary, Brazil, South America
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This is the first account of the breeding season and molt cycle of Uca rapax on the Brazilian coast during a one-year period (April 2001-March 2002). At 2 sites, the ltamambuca and Ubatumirim mangrove forests, 2 collectors captured crabs once a month at low tide far 15 minutes by the catch-per-unit-effort procedure, digging into the sediment and removing the crabs. The gonad-development stages of crabs of both sexes were determined by direct observation, and the molt stage was estimated from the hardness of the tegument. Crabs with developed gonads were found mostly in warmer seasons, with ovigerous females occurring mainly in summer and autumn. The reproductive cycle is seasonal. Recently molted individuals were collected in relatively higher numbers for juveniles than for adult crabs.
First Page
11
Last Page
20
DOI Link
Recommended Citation
da Silva Castiglioni, D., M. Negreiros-Fransozo and R. C. Flores Cardoso.
2007.
Breeding Season and Molt Cycle of the Fiddler Crab Uca rapax (Brachyura, Ocypodidae) in a Subtropical Estuary, Brazil, South America.
Gulf and Caribbean Research
19
(1):
11-20.
Retrieved from https://aquila.usm.edu/gcr/vol19/iss1/2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18785/gcr.1901.02
