Abstract
Environmental aspects and the decapod fauna of several estuaries and coastal lagoons in the southwestern Atlantic, between 25 and 41°S, are compared: Baia de Paranagua, Manguezal de Itacorubi, Lagoa dos Patos (Brasil), Laguna Castillos (Uruguay), Rio de la Plata (Uruguay-Argentina), Laguna Mar Chiquita and Bahia Blanca (Argentina). The information about natural history of crab species (Crustacea: Brachyura) from these estuarine systems is reviewed. The number of crab species falls dramatically between Itacorubi and Lagoa dos Patos, together with a fall in minimum water temperature. Low winter temperatures may affect physiological processes of many species and are related to the disappearance of mangroves, and the variety of microhabitat generated by them. However, temperature alone cannot explain several features of species distribution and life history.
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