Biological associations of color variation in the Indo-Pacific swimming crab Charybdis hellerii

Autor(es)

Watanabe, Timoteo T. ^[1] ; Zara, Fernando J. ^[2] ; Hattori, Gustavo Y. ^[1] ; Turra, Alexander ^[3] ; Sant'Anna, Bruno S. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed Amazonas UFAM, PPGCTRA, ICET, BR-69103128 Itacoatiara, AM - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Inst Estudos Avancados Mar, Ctr Aquicultura, Dept Biol Aplicada, Lab Morfol Invertebrados, BR-14884900 Jaboticabal, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Oceanog IOUSP, DOB, BR-05508120 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências; v. 87, n. 1, p. 219-232, MAR 2015.
• Citações Web of Science: 2

Resumo

A marine biological invasion is a natural process accelerated by human activities, and the crab Charybdis hellerii is an example of a globally widespread invasive species. This study evaluated color variation in C. hellerii and its relationship to the sex, size and sexual maturity of these crabs, and compared the efficiency of a freeware digital image-editing program with a commercially available program. The color of the individuals was analyzed using standardized digital images. The color pattern varied significantly with size; smaller and immature individuals were darker than larger and mature ones. The female abdomen changed in morphology and color with sexual maturity, becoming wider and orange-colored. There was no statistical difference in the color values between males and females and immature males did not show morphological or color differences in their abdomen. This study highlights the possible relationships of the color and physiological state of the reproductive system, which could help in future studies of behavior, avoiding the need to dissect and/or remove individuals from nature for assessment of sexual maturity. The freeware program showed the same efficiency in digital image analysis as a widely known commercial program. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 05/04707-5 - Histologia e ultrassonografia do desenvolvimento das gônadas de Brachyura (Crustacea)
• Beneficiário: Fernando Jose Zara
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 10/50188-8 - Crustáceos decápodes: multidisciplinaridade na caracterização da biodiversidade marinha do estado de São Paulo (taxonomia, espermiotaxonomia, biologia molecular e dinâmica populacional) (Biodiversidade Marinha)
• Beneficiário: Fernando Luis Medina Mantelatto
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático