Environmental factors influencing the distribution of three species within the genus Persephona Leach, 1817 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Leucosiidae) in two regions on the northern coast of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Patterns of spatio-temporal distribution of Brachyura are determined by the interaction among life history traits, inter and intraspecific relationships, as well as by the variation of abiotic factors. This study aimed to characterize patterns of spatio-temporal distribution of Persephona lichtensteinii, Persephona mediterranea and Persephona punctata in two regions of the northern coast of São Paulo State, southeastern region of Brazil. Collections were done monthly from July 2001 to June 2003 in Caraguatatuba and Ubatuba, using a shrimp fishery boat equipped with double-rig nets. The patterns of species distribution were tested by means of redundancy analysis (RDA) and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) in relation to the recorded environmental factors (BT: bottom temperature, BS: bottom salinity, OM: organic matter and granulometry (Phi)). The most influent environmental factor over the species distribution was the Phi, and the ascendant order of influence was P. lichtensteinii, P. punctata and P. mediterranea. The greater abundance of P. mediterranea showed a conservative pattern of distribution for the genus in the sampled region. The greater occurrence of P. punctata and P. lichtensteinii, in distinct transects than those occupied by P. mediterranea, seems to be a strategy to avoid competition among congeneric species, which is related to the substratum specificity.

Spatial and temporal distribution and abundance of two species of Persephona (Decapoda: Brachyura: Leucosiidae) on the southern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil

“…However, the seasonal variation in abundance demonstrated that when more silt and clay were present, species abundance also increased. Bertini et al (2001) and Pereira et al (2014), reported that both P. punctata and P. mediterranea inhabit sites with sediment composed of silt and clay in the Ubatuba region; these substrate types allow crabs to bury themselves for protection and food foraging, results that were corroborated by our observations.…”

“…in January 2014, BT and abundance were the highest for both species. Bertini et al (2001) and Pereira et al (2014), also found a higher abundance of these species in periods of high temperatures in surveys along the northern coast of the Ubatuba region (São Paulo). Both studies indicated the highest crab abundances in autumn and winter when temperatures were higher than in spring and summer.…”

“…These crabs are widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean, from intertidal to subtidal zones at depths of 60 m and 50 m, respectively, in substrates composed of mud, sand, shells, calcareous algae, and/or corals (Melo 1996). They are frequently captured in shrimp trawling fisheries on the southeast coast of Brazil and, although they are not economically important, their populations are subjected to the same impacts as the commercially exploited crabs and shrimps (Pereira et al 2014).…”

“…There are few studies addressing the biology of the genus Persephona, most of them performed in the Ubatuba region, along the northern coast of the state of São Paulo. Negreiros-Fransozo et al (1989), described the larval development of P. mediterranea; Bertini et al (2001) and Pereira et al (2014) reported the spatial-temporal distribution of three species of Persephona; Bertini et al (2010) estimated the reproductive period and sexual maturity of P. mediterranea in Ubatuba; and Almeida et al (2013) compared the relative growth, sexual maturity, and reproductive period of three species of the genus. A taxonomic review of the genus was published by Magalhães (2016), and comparative analysis of the distribution and sexual maturity of P. lichteinsteiini and P. punctata was performed by Carvalho et al (2010) on the coast of Ilhéus, state of Bahia.…”

Occurrence pattern and reproductive ecology of the leucosiid crab <i>Pyrhila pisum</i> (De Haan) in tidal flats in Hakata Bay, Fukuoka, Japan

“…However, there have been very few studies about the ecology of leucosiid species, probably because many species are small or rare, inhabit the subtidal area and are not economically important. There have been some descriptive studies about this family, on their taxonomy and larval development, but ecological ones are limited to Ebalia tuberosa (Pennant), which is distributed in the subtidal area of the northern Atlantic Ocean (Schembri, 1979(Schembri, , 1981a(Schembri, , b, 1982a(Schembri, , b, c, 1983, three Persephona species (P. lichtensteinii Leach, P. mediterranea Herbst, and P. punctate (Linnaeus)) that inhabit the south-eastern Brazilian coast (Almeida et al, 2013;Pereira et al, 2014), and brief reports on a few other species (Hale, 1926;Naidu, 1954).…”