Growth and reproductive biology of the amphidromous shrimp Palaemon pandaliformis (Decapoda: Caridea) in a Neotropical river from northeastern Brazil

Lucas R.P Paschoal,Fernanda J Guimarães,Erminda C.G Couto

doi:10.1590/s1984-4689zool-20160060

Abstract

Population biology, growth and reproductive aspects of the amphidromous shrimp Palaemon pandaliformis (Stimpson, 1871) were investigated in a Neotropical river of northeastern Brazil. The specimens were collected every month from September 2009 to August 2010. Total and monthly sex ratios deviated in favour of males. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters indicated that the females grew more rapidly, reached larger sizes, and had a longer life span than males. We also observed continuous reproductive activity and juvenile recruitment throughout the year. Relations between the number of eggs (fecundity) and body size indicated that fecundity in females increase with size. Compared with previous results, some population biology parameters of the freshwater population of P. pandaliformis differ from estuarine populations. The reproductive aspects analyzed here and their comparison with other marine species were consistent with the hypothesis that Palaemonidae species are undergoing an adaptation process and colonizing fresh water environments.

Highlights

Caridean shrimps are found in all aquatic environments and biogeographic regions on the planet
1 / 14 (1964), who descriptively discussed a few ecological aspects such as feeding, grooming and fecundity; Lima & Oshiro (2002), who briefly described the reproductive biology of this shrimp, and observed a population dominated by females with continuous reproductive activity; Mortari et al (2009), who studied the reproductive biology of two populations with no sex predominance (1:1 sex ratio), and observed both seasonal and continuous reproductive activity throughout the year; and Rosa et al (2015), who discussed ecological and reproductive aspects, and described a population that is dominated by large and heavy females with higher abundances during warmer months and seasonal reproductive activity
We present the population biology, growth patterns and reproductive aspects of P. pandaliformis in a neotropical river

Summary

Introduction

Caridean shrimps are found in all aquatic environments and biogeographic regions on the planet. Known as “potitinga” in Brazil, Palaemon pandaliformis (Stimpson, 1871) is a small amphidromous species with a high tolerance to salinity variations This shrimp has a wide geographical distribution along the Western Atlantic, from Cuba to southern Brazil (Melo 2003, Foster et al 2009, Ferreira et al 2010). These population biology and reproductive aspects were compared to those available in the literature for estuarine populations in order to focus on intraspecific variability

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Conclusion