Abstract
The present work was carried out to verify the occurrence and distribution of Cymbasoma longispinosum Bourne, 1890 in a tropical Amazon estuary from North Brazil. Samplings were performed bimonthly from July/2003 to July/2004 at two different transects (Muriá and Curuçá rivers) situated along the Curuçá estuary (Pará, North Brazil). Samples were collected during neap tides via gentle (1 to 1.5 knots) 200 μm-mesh net tows from a small boat. Additional subsurface water samples were collected for the determination of environmental parameters. Males and females of Cymbasoma longispinosum were only observed during September and November/2003. The highest number of organisms was found in September/2003 at the Muriá River transect. The presence of C. longispinosum in samples obtained during September and November/2003 could probably be related to the reproductive period of this species in the studied estuary, which is directly related to the dry period in the region. The highest salinity values and the highest number of individuals observed in September/2003 corroborate with the previous assumption, since no C. longispinosum was found during the months comprising the rainy period (January to June).
Highlights
IntroductionIts biology and ecology are poorly known, completely differing from all other Copepoda (Calanoida, Cyclopoida, Harpacticoida, Poecilostomatoida and others) in their peculiar life cycle (Dias 1996)
Monstrilloida constitutes the least known copepod order
Santana, unpublished data, for the Marapanim estuary, both located in Northeast Pará (Amazon littoral). These estuaries, like others located in Northern Brazil, are submitted to a semidiurnal macrotide regimen and present high hydrodynamics characterized basically by the strong influence of rainfall and tidal current circulation (Barletta-Bergan 1999, Krumme and Liang 2004, Magalhães et al 2006), which could explain the transport and, the wide distribution of C. longispinosum in the studied area
Summary
Its biology and ecology are poorly known, completely differing from all other Copepoda (Calanoida, Cyclopoida, Harpacticoida, Poecilostomatoida and others) in their peculiar life cycle (Dias 1996). Individuals of this order present most of their naupliar and post-naupliar stages as parasites of benthic invertebrates, mainly poly-. After the first naupliar stage, these organisms experience a gradual transformation inside their host body assuming the definitive appearance of adult copepods (Dias 1996). The presence of a mouth located on an oral papilla linked to a small pharynx and situated, generally, in the center of the cephalic segment is one of the peculiar characteristics for organisms within this order (Davis 1984, Dias 1996).
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