Population biology of the hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes (Linnaeus) (Crustacea, Decapoda) in Southern Brazil

Turra, Alexander; Branco, Joaquim Olinto; Souto, Flávio Xavier

doi:10.1590/S0101-81752002000400008

Abstract

The aim of this study was to provide information on the biology of a subtropical population ofthe hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes focusing size structure, sex ratio, reproductive period and morphometric relationships. Monthly samples were done between January and December 1995 at Armação of Itapocoroy, Penha, southern Brazil, using two over-trawls in depths from 6.0 to 10.0 m. A total of 126 individuais were collected. Overall sex ratio did not differ from 1:1. When the sex ratio was analyzed for each size class, it was skewed for females in the smallest size classes while males outnumbered females in the largest ones. The mean size (cephalothoracic length) of P. diogenes was 30.61 ± 12.52 mm and the size structure of this population was skewed to the right. Males were on average larger and heavier than both ovigerous and non-ovigerous females, which, in turn, showed similar sizes and weights. The ovigerous females represented 61% ofall females and occurred from January to April and in September and December. The relationship of cephalothoracic length and both cephalothoracic width and crab weight were isometric. Both crab size and weight showed a negative allometry with shell weight, indicating that larger/heavier crabs use proportionally lighter shells than small-sized ones.

Size distribution; population structure; sex ratio; morphometric relationships; reproductive activity

Population biology of the hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes (Linnaeus) (Crustacea, Decapoda) in Southern Brazil

Alexander Turra^I; Joaquim Olinto Branco^II; Flávio Xavier Souto^II

^ICurso de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Intituto de Biologia, Unicamp. 13080-970 Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail: turra@unicamp.br

IICentro de Ciências Tecnológicas da Terra e do Mar, UNIVALI. Caixa Postal 360, 88301-970 Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brasil. E-mail: branco@cltmar.univali.br

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to provide information on the biology of a subtropical population ofthe hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes focusing size structure, sex ratio, reproductive period and morphometric relationships. Monthly samples were done between January and December 1995 at Armação of Itapocoroy, Penha, southern Brazil, using two over-trawls in depths from 6.0 to 10.0 m. A total of 126 individuais were collected. Overall sex ratio did not differ from 1:1. When the sex ratio was analyzed for each size class, it was skewed for females in the smallest size classes while males outnumbered females in the largest ones. The mean size (cephalothoracic length) of P. diogenes was 30.61 ± 12.52 mm and the size structure of this population was skewed to the right. Males were on average larger and heavier than both ovigerous and non-ovigerous females, which, in turn, showed similar sizes and weights. The ovigerous females represented 61% ofall females and occurred from January to April and in September and December. The relationship of cephalothoracic length and both cephalothoracic width and crab weight were isometric. Both crab size and weight showed a negative allometry with shell weight, indicating that larger/heavier crabs use proportionally lighter shells than small-sized ones.

Key words: Size distribution, population structure, sex ratio, morphometric relationships, reproductive activity

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Received in 13.III.2002; accepted in 08.X.2002.

ASAKURA, A. 1987. Preliminary observations on the offshore mass migration ofthesand-dwelling herrnit crab, Diogenes nitidimanus Terao (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anornura). Jour, Ethol., Tokyo, 5: 207-209.
ASAKURA, A. & T. KIKUCHI.1984. Population ecology of the sand dwelling hermit crab, Diogenes niiidimanus Terao 2. Migration and life history. Publ. Amakusa Mar. Biol. Lab. 2: 109-123.
BERTINI, G. & A. FRANSOZO. 1999a. Spatial and seasonal distribution of Petrochirus diogenes (Anomura. Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil. Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 86: 145-150
______. 1999b. Relative growth of Petrochirus diogenes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Crustacea, Anomura, Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Biol., Rio de Janeiro, 59 (4): 617-625 .
______. 2000a. Population dynamics of Petrochirus diogenes (Crustacea, Anomura, Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil, p. 331-342. In: J.C VONVAUPELKLEIN & E SCHRAM(Eds). The biodiversity crisis and Crustacea. Balkema, Rotterdam, A. A. Balkema, 840p.
______. 2000b. Patterns of shell utilization in Petrochirus diogenes (Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil. Jour. Crustacean Biol., Seminole, 20 (3): 468-473.
BLACKSTONE, N.W. 1985. The effects of shell size and shape on the growth and form in hermit crabs Pagurus longicarpus. Biol. Bull., Woods Hole, 168: 75-90.
BRANCO, J.O.; A. TURRA & FX. SOUTO. 2002. Population biology and growth of the hermit crab Dardanus insignis at Armação do Itapocoroy, soutern Brazil. Jour. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 82 (4): 597-604.
BRANCO, J.O., M.J. LUNARDON-BRANCO; A.C PERET; FX. SOUTO; R. SCHVEITZER & W.G. VALE. 1998. Associações entre macroinvertebrados e peixes demersais na Armação do Itapocoroy, Penha, SC, Brasil. Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol., Curitiba, 41 (2): 268-277.
COELHO, P.A. & M. RAMOS-PORTO.1987. Sinopse dos crustáceos decápodes brasileiros (famílias Callianassidae, Callianeidae, Upogebiidae, Parapaguridae, Paguridae, Diogenidae). Trab. Oceanogr., Recife, 19: 27-53.
FERNANDES-GÓES, L.C & A. FRANSOZO. 2000. Relative growth of the hermit crab Dardanus insignis (Saussure, 1858) (Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae) from Ubatuba region, SP, Brazil. Naturalia, Rio Claro, 25: 67-76.
FOREST, J & M. DE SAINT LAURENT.1967. Campagne de la Calypso au large des cotes Atlantiques de l' Amérique du sud (1961-1962) I.6. Crustacés Décapodes: Pagurides. Ann. Inst. Óceanogr., Paris, 5 (2): 47-169
FOTHERINGHAM, N. 1975. Structure ofseasonal migrations ofthe littoral hermit crab Clibanarius viuatus (Bosc). Jour. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., Amsterdam, 18: 47-53.
GASPARINI, J.L. & S.R. FLOETER.1999. The giant hennit crab Petrochirus diogenes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Crustacea, Anomura) maximun size. Nauplius, Rio Grande, 7: 185-186.
HAZLETT, B. A. 1981. The behavioral ecology ofhermit crabs. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., Stanford, 12: 1-22.
KELLOGG, C.W. 1977. Coexistence in a hermit crab ensemble. Biol. Bull., Woods Hole, 153: 133-144.
MANJÓN-CABEZA, M.E. & J.E. GARCÍA-RASO. 1998. Structure and evolution of a decapod crustacean community from the coastal detritic bottoms of Barbate (Cadiz, Southern Spain). Jour. Nat. Hist., London, 32: 1619-1630.
MANTELATTO, F.L.M. & A. FRANSOZO. 1999. Characterization of the physical and chemical parameters of Ubatuba Bay, northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Biol., Rio de Janeiro, 59 (1): 23-31.
MARTINEZ-IGLESIAS, J.C. & J.E. GARCÍA-RASO.1999. The crustacean decapod communities of the coral reefs from southwestern Caribbean sea of Cuba: species composition, abundance and structure of the communities. Bull. Mar. Sci., Miami, 65 (2): 539-557.
MELLO, G.A.S. 1999. Manual de Identificação dos Crustacea Deeapoda do Litoral Brasileiro: Anomura, Thalassidinea, Palinuridea, Astaeidea. São Paulo, Plêiade/FAPESP, 551p.
NEGREIROS-FRANSOZO, M.L; A. FRANSOZO; F.L.M. MANTELATTO; M.A.A. PINHEIRO & S. SANTOS.1997. Anomuran species (Crustacea, Decapoda) and their ecological distribution at Fortaleza Bay sublittoral, Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 83: 187-194.
PROVENZANO J. R., A.J. 1968. The complete larval development ofthe West Indian hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes (L.) (Decapoda, Diogenidae) reared in the laboratory. Bull. Mar. Sci., Miami, 18 (1): 143-181.
REBACH, S. 1978. The role of celestial cues in short range migration of the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus. Anim. Behav., London, 26: 835-842.
______. 1981. Use of multiple cues in short-range migrations of crustacea. Amer. Mid. Nat., Notre Dame, Indiana, 105: 168-180.
RIEGER, P.J. 1997. Os "ermitões" (Crustacea, Decapoda, Parapaguridae, Diogenidae e Paguridae) do litoral brasileiro. Nauplius, Rio Grande, 5 (2): 99-124.
SPIGHT, T.M. 1985. Why small hermit crabs use large shells? Res. Pop. Ecol., Tokyo, 27: 39-54.
TURRA, A. & F.P.P. LEITE. 2000. Population biology and growth of three sympatric intertidal hermit crabs in south-eastern Brazil. Jour, Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 80: 1061-1069.
______. 2001. Shell utilization patterns of a tropical rocky intertidal hermit crab assemblage. I. the case of Grande Beach. Jour. Crustaeean Biol., Seminole, 21 (4): 393-406.
______. 2002. Shell utilization patterns of a tropical intertidal hermit crab assemblage. Jour. Mar. Biol. Assoc, UK 82: 97-107.
WENNER, A.M. 1972. Sex ratio as a function of size in marine crustacea. Amer. Nat., Chicago, 106: 321-350.
ZAR, J. H. 1996. Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 718p.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
11 May 2009
Date of issue
Dec 2002

History

Received
13 Mar 2002
Accepted
08 Oct 2002

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] ASAKURA, A. 1987. Preliminary observations on the offshore mass migration ofthesand-dwelling herrnit crab, Diogenes nitidimanus Terao (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anornura). Jour, Ethol., Tokyo, 5: 207-209.

[2] ASAKURA, A. & T. KIKUCHI.1984. Population ecology of the sand dwelling hermit crab, Diogenes niiidimanus Terao 2. Migration and life history. Publ. Amakusa Mar. Biol. Lab. 2: 109-123.

[3] BERTINI, G. & A. FRANSOZO. 1999a. Spatial and seasonal distribution of Petrochirus diogenes (Anomura. Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil. Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 86: 145-150

[4] ______. 1999b. Relative growth of Petrochirus diogenes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Crustacea, Anomura, Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Biol., Rio de Janeiro, 59 (4): 617-625 .

[5] ______. 2000a. Population dynamics of Petrochirus diogenes (Crustacea, Anomura, Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil, p. 331-342. In: J.C VONVAUPELKLEIN & E SCHRAM(Eds). The biodiversity crisis and Crustacea. Balkema, Rotterdam, A. A. Balkema, 840p.

[6] ______. 2000b. Patterns of shell utilization in Petrochirus diogenes (Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae) in the Ubatuba region, São Paulo, Brazil. Jour. Crustacean Biol., Seminole, 20 (3): 468-473.

[7] BLACKSTONE, N.W. 1985. The effects of shell size and shape on the growth and form in hermit crabs Pagurus longicarpus. Biol. Bull., Woods Hole, 168: 75-90.

[8] BRANCO, J.O.; A. TURRA & FX. SOUTO. 2002. Population biology and growth of the hermit crab Dardanus insignis at Armação do Itapocoroy, soutern Brazil. Jour. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 82 (4): 597-604.

[9] BRANCO, J.O., M.J. LUNARDON-BRANCO; A.C PERET; FX. SOUTO; R. SCHVEITZER & W.G. VALE. 1998. Associações entre macroinvertebrados e peixes demersais na Armação do Itapocoroy, Penha, SC, Brasil. Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol., Curitiba, 41 (2): 268-277.

[10] COELHO, P.A. & M. RAMOS-PORTO.1987. Sinopse dos crustáceos decápodes brasileiros (famílias Callianassidae, Callianeidae, Upogebiidae, Parapaguridae, Paguridae, Diogenidae). Trab. Oceanogr., Recife, 19: 27-53.

[11] FERNANDES-GÓES, L.C & A. FRANSOZO. 2000. Relative growth of the hermit crab Dardanus insignis (Saussure, 1858) (Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae) from Ubatuba region, SP, Brazil. Naturalia, Rio Claro, 25: 67-76.

[12] FOREST, J & M. DE SAINT LAURENT.1967. Campagne de la Calypso au large des cotes Atlantiques de l' Amérique du sud (1961-1962) I.6. Crustacés Décapodes: Pagurides. Ann. Inst. Óceanogr., Paris, 5 (2): 47-169

[13] FOTHERINGHAM, N. 1975. Structure ofseasonal migrations ofthe littoral hermit crab Clibanarius viuatus (Bosc). Jour. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., Amsterdam, 18: 47-53.

[14] GASPARINI, J.L. & S.R. FLOETER.1999. The giant hennit crab Petrochirus diogenes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Crustacea, Anomura) maximun size. Nauplius, Rio Grande, 7: 185-186.

[15] HAZLETT, B. A. 1981. The behavioral ecology ofhermit crabs. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., Stanford, 12: 1-22.

[16] KELLOGG, C.W. 1977. Coexistence in a hermit crab ensemble. Biol. Bull., Woods Hole, 153: 133-144.

[17] MANJÓN-CABEZA, M.E. & J.E. GARCÍA-RASO. 1998. Structure and evolution of a decapod crustacean community from the coastal detritic bottoms of Barbate (Cadiz, Southern Spain). Jour. Nat. Hist., London, 32: 1619-1630.

[18] MANTELATTO, F.L.M. & A. FRANSOZO. 1999. Characterization of the physical and chemical parameters of Ubatuba Bay, northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Biol., Rio de Janeiro, 59 (1): 23-31.

[19] MARTINEZ-IGLESIAS, J.C. & J.E. GARCÍA-RASO.1999. The crustacean decapod communities of the coral reefs from southwestern Caribbean sea of Cuba: species composition, abundance and structure of the communities. Bull. Mar. Sci., Miami, 65 (2): 539-557.

[20] MELLO, G.A.S. 1999. Manual de Identificação dos Crustacea Deeapoda do Litoral Brasileiro: Anomura, Thalassidinea, Palinuridea, Astaeidea. São Paulo, Plêiade/FAPESP, 551p.

[21] NEGREIROS-FRANSOZO, M.L; A. FRANSOZO; F.L.M. MANTELATTO; M.A.A. PINHEIRO & S. SANTOS.1997. Anomuran species (Crustacea, Decapoda) and their ecological distribution at Fortaleza Bay sublittoral, Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 83: 187-194.

[22] PROVENZANO J. R., A.J. 1968. The complete larval development ofthe West Indian hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes (L.) (Decapoda, Diogenidae) reared in the laboratory. Bull. Mar. Sci., Miami, 18 (1): 143-181.

[23] REBACH, S. 1978. The role of celestial cues in short range migration of the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus. Anim. Behav., London, 26: 835-842.

[24] ______. 1981. Use of multiple cues in short-range migrations of crustacea. Amer. Mid. Nat., Notre Dame, Indiana, 105: 168-180.

[25] RIEGER, P.J. 1997. Os "ermitões" (Crustacea, Decapoda, Parapaguridae, Diogenidae e Paguridae) do litoral brasileiro. Nauplius, Rio Grande, 5 (2): 99-124.

[26] SPIGHT, T.M. 1985. Why small hermit crabs use large shells? Res. Pop. Ecol., Tokyo, 27: 39-54.

[27] TURRA, A. & F.P.P. LEITE. 2000. Population biology and growth of three sympatric intertidal hermit crabs in south-eastern Brazil. Jour, Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 80: 1061-1069.

[28] ______. 2001. Shell utilization patterns of a tropical rocky intertidal hermit crab assemblage. I. the case of Grande Beach. Jour. Crustaeean Biol., Seminole, 21 (4): 393-406.

[29] ______. 2002. Shell utilization patterns of a tropical intertidal hermit crab assemblage. Jour. Mar. Biol. Assoc, UK 82: 97-107.

[30] WENNER, A.M. 1972. Sex ratio as a function of size in marine crustacea. Amer. Nat., Chicago, 106: 321-350.

[31] ZAR, J. H. 1996. Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 718p.