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(Reference retrieved automatically from SciELO through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Shell occupation by the South Atlantic endemic hermit crab Loxopagurus loxochelis (Moreira, 1901) (Anomura: Diogenidae)

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Author(s):
Israel Fernandes Frameschi [1] ; Luciana Segura de Andrade [2] ; Carlos Eduardo Rocha Duarte Alencar [3] ; Vívian Fransozo [4] ; Gustavo Monteiro Teixeira [5] ; Lissandra Corrêa Fernandes-Goés [6]
Total Authors: 6
Affiliation:
[1] Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP. Departamento de Zoologia. Instituto de Biociências - Brasil
[2] Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP. Departamento de Zoologia. Instituto de Biociências - Brasil
[3] Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Grupo de Estudos de Ecologia e Fisiologia de Animais Aquáticos - GEEFAA - Brasil
[4] Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia. Departamento de Ciências Naturais - Brasil
[5] Universidade Estadual de Londrina - UEL. Departamento de Biologia Animal e Vegetal - Brasil
[6] Universidade Estadual do Piauí - UESPI - Brasil
Total Affiliations: 6
Document type: Journal article
Source: Nauplius; v. 21, n. 2, p. 137-149, 2013-12-00.
Abstract

The evaluation of population characteristics, particularly those of endemic species, aids in population preservation and management. Hermit crabs present an innate behavior of occupying shells, which tends to individual needs and limits their distribution. This study characterized the pattern of occupation of gastropod shells by the hermit Loxopagurus loxochelis in three bays of the southwestern coast of Brazil. Monthly collections were made from January/1998 to December/1999 in the bays Ubatumirim (UBM), Ubatuba (UBA) and Mar Virado (MV) with a shrimping boat. Overall, ten species of gastropod shells were occupied by L. loxochelis. The shell of Olivancillaria urceus represented 66.8% of those occupied. Morphometric relationships demonstrated a differential occupation of the more abundant shells among demographic groups, where most of the males occupied O. urceus, non-ovigerous females occupied O. urceus and Buccinanops cochlidium, and ovigerous females occupied B. cochlidium and Stramonita haemastoma. Most of the individuals occupied the more abundant shells, considered adequate for the morphology of this hermit crab species. Thus, the studied bays seem to be stable and propitious environments for population perpetuation and the settlement of new individuals. (AU)