Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Population Structure of the Shrimp Alpheus estuariensis (Caridea: Alpheidae) in a Tropical Estuarine Tidal Mudflat

  • Published:
Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigated recruitment, sex ratio, growth, longevity, density, and distribution pattern of a population of the snapping shrimp Alpheus estuariensis in a tropical estuarine tidal mudflat in northeastern Brazil. Individuals were captured monthly from September 2011 to October 2012 in Pontal Bay, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. In total, 863 shrimps were collected: 311 males, 305 females (134 breeding and 171 non-breeding), and 247 juveniles. Individuals smaller than 5.9 mm (carapace length of the smallest breeding female) were considered juveniles. Both adults and juveniles occurred throughout the sampling period. Although there was no relationship between abundance and environmental factors (temperature, rainfall, and salinity), some months had more individuals than others. Recruitment was continuous. Total and monthly sex ratio did not differ from 1:1 (M:F). The sex ratio by size-frequency class (carapace length) was similar to Wenner’s “Standard Pattern”; however, no deviation in favor of males was observed in the largest size classes. Compared with Gompertz and logistic functions, the von Bertalanffy Growth model gave the best fit to the data, describing growth with the equation: Length = 14.64*(1-e(−1.21*(age-0.03))). The estimated life span of A. estuariensis was 1.07 years. Juveniles and adults were more abundant in small grain size sediments, which might facilitate excavation during shelter construction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akaike H (1974) A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Trans Autom Control 19:716–725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almeida AO, Coelho PA, Santos JTA, Ferraz NR (2006) Crustáceos decápodos estuarinos de Ilhéus. Bahia, Brasil. Biota Neotrop 6(2): doi:10.1590/S1676-06032006000200024

  • Almeida AO, Mantelatto FLM (2013) Extension of the southern distributions of three estuarine snapping shrimps of the genus Alpheus Fabricius, 1798 (Caridea: Alpheidae) in South America. Crustaceana 86:1715–1722

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almeida AC, Baeza JA, Fransozo V, Castilho AL, Fransozo A (2012a) Reproductive biology and recruitment of Xiphopenaeus kroyeri in a marine protected área in the Western Atlantic: implications for resource management. Aquat Biol 17:57–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almeida AO, Boehs G, Araújo-Silva CL, Bezerra LEA (2012b) Shallow water caridean shrimps from southern Bahia, Brazil, including the first record of Synalpheus ul (Ríos & Duffy, 2007) (Alpheidae) in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Zootaxa 3347:1–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Almeida AO, Terossi M, Mantelatto FL (2014) Morphology and DNA analyses reveal a new cryptic snapping shrimp of the Alpheus heterochaelis Say 1818 (Decapoda: Alpheidae) species complex from the western Atlantic. Zoosystema 36:53–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anger K (2006) Contributions of larval biology to crustacean research: a review. Invertebr Reprod Dev 49:175–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anker A, Ahyong ST, Noel PY, Palmer AR (2006) Morphological phylogeny of alpheid shrimps: parallel preadaptation and the origin of a key morphological innovation, the snapping claw. Evolution 60:2507–2528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ardovine C (2014) Crabs global diversity, behavior and environmental threats. Nova publishers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer RT (1986) Sex change and life history pattern in the shrimp Thor manningi (Decopoda: Caridea): a novel case of partial protandric hermaphroditism. Biol Bull 170:11–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer RT (1989) Continuous reproduction and episodic recruitment in nine caridean shrimp species inhabiting a tropical seagrass meadow. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 127:175–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer RT (1992) Testing generalizations about latitudinal variation in reproductive and recruitment patterns with caridean and sicyoniid shrimps. J Invertebr Reprod Dev 22:193–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer RT (2004) Remarkable shrimps: adaptations and natural history of the carideans. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer RT, Lin J (1994) Temporal patterns of reproduction and recruitment in populations of the penaeid shrimps Trachypenaeus similis (Smith) and T. constrictus (Stimpson) (Crustacea: Decapoda) from the Northcentral Gulf of Mexico. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 182:205–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berke SK (2010) Functional groups of ecosystem engineers: a proposed classification with comments on current issues. Integr Comp Biol 50:147–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bezerra LEA, Matthews-Cascon H (2006) Population structure of the fiddler crab Uca leptodactyla Rathbun, 1898 (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) in a tropical mangrove of northeast Brazil. Thalassas 22:65–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Bezerra LEA, Matthews-Cascon H (2007) Population and reproductive biology of the fiddler crab Uca thayeri Rathbun, 1900 (Crustacea: Ocypodidae) in a tropical mangrove from Northeast Brazil. Acta Oecol 31:251–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya CG (1967) A simple method of resolution of a distribution into Gaussian components. Biometrics 23:115–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boltaña S, Thiel M (2001) Associations between two species of snapping shrimp Alpheus inca and Alpheopsis chilensis (Decapoda: Caridea: Alpheidae). J Mar Biol Assoc U K 81:633–638

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castilho AL, Gavio MA, Costa RC, Boschi EE, Bauer RT, Fransozo A (2007) Latitudinal variation in population structure and reproductive pattern of the endemic south American shrimp Artemesia longinaris (Decapoda: Penaeoidea). J Crustac Biol 27:548–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castilho AL, Wolf MR, Simões SM, Bochini GL, Fransozo V, Costa RC (2012) Growth and reproductive dynamics of the South American red shrimp, Pleoticus muelleri (Crustacea: Solenoceridae), from the southeastern coast of Brazil. J Marine Syst 105–108: 135–144

  • Chace FA Jr (1988) The caridean shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda) of the Albatross Philippine Expedition, 1907-1910, Part 5: Family Alpheidae. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 466:1–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Chak STC, Bauer R, Thiel M (2015) Social Behaviour and Recognition in Decapod Shrimps, with Emphasis on the Caridea. In: Aquiloni L, Tricarico E (eds) Social Recognition in Invertebrates. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 57–84

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Christoffersen ML (1984) The western Atlantic snapping shrimps related to Alpheus heterochaelis Say (Crustacea. Caridea), with the description of a new species. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 35(19):189–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobo VJ, Fransozo A (2003) External factors determining breeding season in the red mangrove crab Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Grapsidae) on the São Paulo State northern coast, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 20:213–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Correa C, Thiel M (2003) Mating systems in caridean shrimp (Decapoda: Caridea) and their evolutionary consequences for sexual dimorphism and reproductive biology. Rev Chil Hist Nat 76:187–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa-Souza AC, Rocha SS, Bezerra LEA, Almeida AO (2014) Breeding and heterosexual pairing in the snapping shrimp Alpheus estuariensis (Caridea: Alpheidae) in a tropical bay in northeastern Brazil. J Crustac Biol 34:593–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Grave S, Fransen CHJM (2011) Carideorum Catalogus: The Recent Species of the Dendrobranchiate, Stenopodidean, Procarididean and Caridean Shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda). Zoologische Mededelingen 85:195–589

    Google Scholar 

  • Dworschak PC (1983) The biology of Upogebia pusilla (Petagna) (Decapoda, Thalassinidea). I. The burrows, Publicazzioni della Stazione Zoologica di Napoli I. Mar Ecol 4:19–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felder D (1982) Reproduction of the snapping shrimps Synalpheus fritzmuelleri and S. apioceros (Crustacea: Decapoda: Alpheidae) on a sublittoral reef off Texas. J Crustac Biol 2:535–543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Muñoz R, Garcia-Raso JE (1987) Study of a population of Alpheus dentipes Guerin, 1832 from calcareous bottoms in the southern Spain. Investigaciones Pesqueras 51:343–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Gayanilo FC Jr, Sparre P, Pauly D (2005) FAO-ICLARM stock assessment tools II (FISAT II)—User’s guide. FAO Computerized Information Series (Fisheries). No. 8, Revised version. Rome: FAO

  • Glamuzina L, Conides A, Prusina I, Cukteras M, Klaoudatos D, Zacharaki P, Glamuzina B (2014) Population structure, Growth, Mortality and Fecundity of Palaemon aspersus (Rathke 1837; Decapoda: Palaemonidae) in the Parila Lagoon (Croatia, SE Adriatic Sea) with notes on the population management. Turk J Fish Aquat Sci 14:677–687

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall-Spencer JM, Atkinson RJA (1999) Upogebia deltaura (Crustacea: Thalassinidea) in Clyde Sea maerl beds. J Mar Biol Assoc U K 79:871–880

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD (2001) PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electron 4:1-9

  • Hirose GL, Fransozo V, Tropea C, Lopez-Greco LS, Negreiros-Fransozo ML (2012) Comparison of body size, relative growth and size at onset sexual maturity of Uca uruguayensis (Crustacea: Decapoda: Ocypodidae) from different latitudes in the southwestern Atlantic. J Mar Biol Assoc U K 93:781–788

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirose GL, Souza LS, Silva SLR, Alves DFR, Negreiros-Fransozo ML (2015) Population structure of the red mangrove crab, Goniopsis cruentata (Decapoda: Grapsidae) under different fishery impacts: Implications for resource management. Rev Biol Trop 63:443–457

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood GM (2006) Pop Tools version 2.7. Software. Available at: http://www.cse.csiro.au/poptools

  • Knowlton N (1980) Sexual selection and dimorphism in two demes of a symbiotic, pair bonding snapping shrimp. Evolution 34:161–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lardies M, Medina MH, Correa JA (2008) Intraspecific biogeographic pattern breakage in the snapping shrimp Betaeus emarginatus caused by coastal copper mine tailings. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 358:203–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little C (2000) The biology of soft shores and estuaries. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Litulo C (2005) Population biology of the fiddler crab Uca annulipes (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) in a tropical East African mangrove (Mozambique). Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 62:283–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin JW, Davis GE (2001) An updated classification of the recent Crustacea, Science Series 39. Los Angeles, CA: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 39:1–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews LM (2002) Tests of the mate-guarding hypothesis for social monogamy: does population density, sex ratio, or female synchrony affect behavior of male snapping shrimp (Alpheus angulatus)? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 51:426–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathews LM, Anker A (2009) Molecular phylogeny reveals extensive and ongoing radiations in a snapping shrimp species complex (Crustacea, Alpheidae, Alpheus armillatus). Mol Phylogenet Evol 50:268–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mossolin EC, Shimizu RM, Bueno SLS (2006) Population structure of Alpheus armillatus (Decapoda, Alpheidae) in São Sebastião and Ilhabela, southeastern Brazil. J Crustac Biol 26:48–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nacif P, Costa L, Soadi A, Fernandes-Filho E, Ker J, Costa O, Moreau M (2003) Ambientes naturais da bacia hidrográfica do rio Cachoeira. Available at: http://www.corredores.org. br/?pageId = adminOpenDoc&docId = 1664. Accessed in 24 abril 2011

  • Nolan BA, Salmon M (1970) The Behavior and Ecology of Snapping Shrimp (Crustacea: Alpheus heterochaelis and Alpheus normanni). Forma et functio 2:289–335

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira MV, Costa-Souza AC, Guimarães FJ, Almeida AO, Baeza JA (2015) Observations on the life history of a rare shrimp, Salmoneus carvachoi (Crustacea: Caridea: Alpheidae), a possible simultaneous hermaphrodite. Mar Biodiversity Rec 8:e141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palomar N, Juinio-Meñez MA, Karplus I (2005) Behavior of the burrowing shrimp Alpheus macellarius in varying gravel substrate conditions. J Ethol 23:173–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pescinelli RA, Davanso TM, Costa RC (2016) Social monogamy and egg production in the snapping shrimp Alpheus brasileiro (Caridea: Alpheidae) from the south eastern coast of Brazil. J Mar Biol Assoc UK. doi:10.1017/S0025315416000904

  • Pinheiro MAA, Almeida R (2015) Monitoramento de populações do caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus (Brachyura, Ucididae). In: Turra A, Denadai MR, Protocolos para o Monitoramento de Habitats Bentônicos Costeiros Rede de Monitoramento de Habitats Bentônicos Costeiros. Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, pp 122–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman N, Dunham DW, Govind C (2003) Social monogamy in the big clawed snapping shrimp Alpheus heterochaelis. Ethology 109:457–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos LCM, Pinheiro MAA, Dahdouh-Guebas F, Bitencourt MD (2016) Population status and fishery potential of the mangrove crab, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) in North-eastern Brazil. J Mar Biol Assoc UK. doi:10.1017/S0025315416001259

  • Sastry AN (1983) Ecological aspects of reproduction. In: Vernberg FJ, Vernberg WB, eds, The Biology of Crustacea – Behavior and Ecology, New York, pp 179–270

  • Shinozaki-Mendes RA, Silva AAG, Mendes PP, Lessa R (2012) Age and growth of Callinectes danae (Brachyura: Portunidae) in a tropical region. J Crustac Biol 32:906–915

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva FMRO, Ribeiro FB, Bezerra LE (2016) Population biology and morphometric sexual maturity of the fiddler crab Uca (Uca) maracoani (Latreille, 1802) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Ocypodidae) in a semi-arid tropical estuary of northeastern Brazil. Lat Am J Aquat Res 44:671–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souza JRB, Borzone CA, Brey T (1998) Population dynamics and secondary production of Callichirus major (Crustacea: Thalassinidea) on a southern brazilian sandy beach. Arch Fish Mar Res 46:151–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Souza MFL, Eça GF, Silva MAM, Amorim FAC, Lôbo IP (2009) Distribuição de nutrientes dissolvidos e clorofila-a no estuário dorio Chachoeira, nordeste do Brasil. Atlântica 31(1):107-121

  • Sparre P, Venema SC (1998) Introduction to tropical fish stock assessment. FAO Fisheries Technical Papers I 306:1–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Strasser KM, Felder DL (1998) Settlement cues in successive developmental stages of the ghost shrimps Callichirus major and C. islagrande (Crustacea: Decapoda: Thalassinidea). Mar Biol 132:599–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strasser KM, Felder DL (1999) Settlement cues in an Atlantic coastal population of the ghost shrimp Callichirus major (Crustacea: Decapoda: Thalassinidea). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 183:217–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terossi M, Mantelatto FL (2010) Sexual ratio, reproductive period and seasonal variation of the gonochoric shrimp Hippolyte obliquimanus (Caridea: Hippolytidae). Mar Biol Res 6:213–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vergamini FG, Mantelatto FL (2008) Microdistribution of juveniles and adults of the mud crab Panopeus americanus (Brachyura, Panopeidae) in a remnant mangrove area in the southwest Atlantic. J Nat Hist 23:581–1589

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenner AM (1972) Sex-ratio as a function of size in marine Crustacea. Am Nat 106:321–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanagisawa Y (1984) Studies on the interspecific relationship between gobiid fish and snapping shrimp. 2. Life history and pair formation of snapping shrimp Alpheus bellulus. Publ Seto Mar Biol Lab 29:93–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB) (APP 0035/2011) and to the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC) (00220.1100.1065) for financing the Project “Biologia e Ecologia de Camarões da Família Alpheidae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea)”. To the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia of UESC for the support. A.C. Costa-Souza thanks the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the master’s scholarship grant. AOA thanks the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the research scholarship support (PQ 305939/2015-7). To Patricia Santos, Guidomar Soledade, Andressa Cunha, Mário Vitor Oliveira, David Weber, João Mário Macêdo, Aline Reis, Midian Salgado, Karen Martins, Yamid Mera, Milane Correa, Luciano Oliveira, Paulo Ribeiro, and Ivanise Hora for their support in the field samplings and to Dr. Erminda Couto and Dr. Fernanda Jordão for their support with sediment analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia, Avenida Professor Moraes Rêgo, 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil

    Ana Carla Costa-Souza, José Roberto Botelho de Souza & Alexandre Oliveira Almeida

  2. Universidade de Pernambuco, Faculdade de Ciências, Educação e Tecnologia de Garanhuns (FACETEG), Magano, Garanhuns, Pernambuco, 55294-902, Brazil

    Marina de Sá Leitão Câmara de Araújo

Authors
  1. Ana Carla Costa-Souza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. José Roberto Botelho de Souza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marina de Sá Leitão Câmara de Araújo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alexandre Oliveira Almeida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Carla Costa-Souza.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Costa-Souza, A.C., de Souza, J.R.B., de Araújo, M.d.S.L.C. et al. Population Structure of the Shrimp Alpheus estuariensis (Caridea: Alpheidae) in a Tropical Estuarine Tidal Mudflat. Thalassas 34, 1–11 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-017-0036-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-017-0036-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation