Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-12T14:38:31.681Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Population status and fishery potential of the mangrove crab, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) in North-eastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2016

Luciana Cavalcanti Maia Santos*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia da Paisagem e Conservação (LEPaC), Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 321, Travessa 14, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil Grupo de Pesquisa em Biologia de Crustáceos (CRUSTA), Laboratório de Biologia de Crustáceos, UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Instituto de Biociências (IB), Campus do Litoral Paulista (CLP), Praça Infante Dom Henrique, s/n., Parque Bitaru, 11330–900, São Vicente, SP, Brasil UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Campus Registro. Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupi, Registro, SP, Brasil
Marcelo Antonio Amaro Pinheiro
Affiliation:
Grupo de Pesquisa em Biologia de Crustáceos (CRUSTA), Laboratório de Biologia de Crustáceos, UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Instituto de Biociências (IB), Campus do Litoral Paulista (CLP), Praça Infante Dom Henrique, s/n., Parque Bitaru, 11330–900, São Vicente, SP, Brasil
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Systems Ecology and Resource Management, Département de Biologie des Organismes, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles – ULB, CP 169, Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt 50, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium Laboratory of Plant Biology and Nature Management, Mangrove Management Group, Faculteit Wetenschappen en Bio-ingenieurswetenschappen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel – VUB, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Marisa Dantas Bitencourt
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ecologia da Paisagem e Conservação (LEPaC), Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 321, Travessa 14, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.C.M. Santos, Univ. Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Campus Registro. Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupi, Registro, SP, Brasil email: santos.lucianacm@gmail.com

Abstract

Ucides cordatus is a semi-terrestrial crab and key species endemic to mangrove areas of eastern Americas. In North-eastern Brazil this crab holds a major socio-economic function for artisanal fisheries, as in the São Francisco River Estuary (10°30′27″S 36°23′45″W). Nevertheless, decreases in this species’ stock have been reported since 2000, requiring assessments of the crab population for conservation and management purposes. This study aims at assessing the population status and the fishery potential of this species in the mangroves of this estuary and suggests strategies for its fishery and conservation, according to the guidelines of the National Management Plan for U. cordatus Sustainable Use. Six different sites established in 30 km2 of mangroves were sampled, with the density of U. cordatus burrows estimated to evaluate the population structure using the measure of burrow diameters. Results show that the crab mean burrow size was 56.82 (±12.2) mm and that the medium-size crabs (40–70 mm) are the most abundant. The total mean crab density was 1.2 crabs m−2, from which the density of crabs in commercial size (0.85 ± 0.55 crabs m−2) was significantly higher than those in non-commercial size (0.35 ± 0.21 burrow m−2). These mangroves showed a high potential for the crab fishery, with an immediate extractive potential (IEP) of 71.2% and future extractive potential (FEP) of 28.8%. Nevertheless, a lower crab density, probably due to high crab mortality, mangrove deforestation for shrimp farming and high fishery pressure, is a limiting factor for local fishery. We conclude that mangrove areas more appropriate for U. cordatus fishery (extractive areas) show higher mean crab size, IEP and density of commercial crabs, wherein a fixed exploitation rate or/and a fixed escapement rule should be considered. Exclusion areas, intended for the conservation, show lower values of these population parameters and higher FEP, wherein the fishery should be prohibited. These management strategies should also be considered in other Brazilian mangrove areas showing similar crab population structure, thus contributing to the National Management Plan for U. cordatus Sustainable Use.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Co-last author.

References

REFERENCES

Alcantara-Filho, P. (1978) Contribuição ao estudo da biologia e ecologia do caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Crustacea Decapoda- Brachyura), no manguezal do Rio Ceará (Brasil). Arquivos de Ciência do Mar 18, 141.Google Scholar
Alves, R.R.N. and Nishida, A.K. (2003) Aspectos socioeconômicos e formas de percepção ambiental dos catadores de caranguejo-uçá Ucides cordatus cordatus (L. 1763) (Decapoda, Brachyura) do estuário do Rio Mamanguape. Interciencia 28, 3643.Google Scholar
Alves, R.R.N. and Nishida, A.K. (2004) Population structure of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Crustacea: Decapoda; Brachyura) in the estuary of the Mamanguape River, Northeast Brazil. Tropical Oceanography 32, 2337.Google Scholar
Alves, R.R.N., Nishida, A.K. and Hernandez, M.I.M. (2005) Environmental perception of gatherers of the crab ‘caranguejo-ucá’ (Ucides cordatus, Decapoda, Brachyura) affecting their collection attitudes. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 1, 10.Google Scholar
Amaral, K.D.S., Vieira, I.M., Osório, F.M., Rocha, J.D.M. and Lima, J.F. (2014) Bioecology of the crab Ucides cordatus (Crustacea, Decapoda) in mangroves influenced by the Amazon River, Brazil. Acta Amazônica 44, 213222.Google Scholar
ANA – Agência Nacional de Águas (2005) Plano decenal de recursos hídricos na bacia hidrográfica do Rio São Francisco (2004–2013). Brasília: Ministério do Meio Ambiente.Google Scholar
Barbier, E.B. (2000) Valuing the environment as input: review of applications to mangrove-fishery linkages. Ecological Economics 35, 4761.Google Scholar
Boeger, W.A., Pie, M.R., Ostrensky, A. and Patella, L. (2005) Lethargic crab disease: multidisciplinary evidence supports a mycotic etiology. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 100, 161167.Google Scholar
Boeger, W.A., Pie, M.R., Vicente, V., Ostrensky, A., Hungria, D. and Castilho, G.G. (2007) Histopathology of the mangrove land crab Ucides cordatus (Ocypodidae) affected by lethargic crab disease. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 78, 7381.Google Scholar
Branco, J.O. (1993) Aspectos bioecológicos do caranguejo Ucides cordatus cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Crustacea, Decapoda) do Manguezal do Itacurubi, Santa Catarina. Arquivos de Ciência do Mar 36, 133148.Google Scholar
Brasil (2004) Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Instrução Normativa n° 05/2004. Reconhece como espécies ameaçadas de extinção e espécies sobreexplotadas ou ameaçadas de sobreexplotação, os invertebrados aquáticos e peixes, constantes dos Anexos à Instrução Normativa . Diário Oficial da União 102, 136142.Google Scholar
Brasil (2011) Proposta do Plano Nacional de Gestão para o uso sustentável do Caranguejo-Uçá, do Guaiamum e do Siri Azul. Brasília, DF: Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA).Google Scholar
Brasil (2014) Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Portaria n° 445/2014. Lista Nacional Oficial de Espécies da Fauna Ameaçadas de Extinção – Peixes e Invertebrados Aquáticos . Diário Oficial da União 256, 126130.Google Scholar
Brasil (2015) Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Portaria n° 9/2015. Aprova o Plano de Ação Nacional para Conservação das Espécies Ameaçadas e de Importância Socioeconômica do Ecossistema Manguezal – PAN Manguezal . Diário Oficial da União 21, 140141.Google Scholar
Bright, D.B. and Hogue, C.L. (1972) A synopsis of the burrowing land crabs of the world and list of their arthropod symbionts and burrow associates. Contributions in Science – Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 220, 158.Google Scholar
CEPENE – Centro de Pesquisa e Gestão de Recursos Pesqueiros do Litoral Nordeste (1999) Boletim estatístico da pesca marítima e estuarina do Nordeste do Brasil – 1999. Tamandaré: CEPENE.Google Scholar
CEPENE – Centro de Pesquisa e Gestão de Recursos Pesqueiros do Litoral Nordeste (2000) Boletim estatístico da pesca marítima e estuarina do Nordeste do Brasil – 2000. Tamandaré: CEPENE.Google Scholar
CEPENE – Centro de Pesquisa e Gestão de Recursos Pesqueiros do Litoral Nordeste (2001) Boletim estatístico da pesca marítima e estuarina do Nordeste do Brasil – 2001. Tamandaré: CEPENE.Google Scholar
CEPENE – Centro de Pesquisa e Gestão de Recursos Pesqueiros do Litoral Nordeste (2002) Boletim estatístico da pesca marítima e estuarina do Nordeste do Brasil – 2002. Tamandaré: CEPENE.Google Scholar
CEPENE – Centro de Pesquisa e Gestão de Recursos Pesqueiros do Litoral Nordeste (2003) Boletim estatístico da pesca marítima e estuarina do Nordeste do Brasil – 2003. Tamandaré: CEPENE.Google Scholar
Christofoletti, R.A., Hattori, G.Y. and Pinheiro, M.A.A. (2013) Food selection by a mangrove crab: temporal changes in fasted animals. Hydrobiologia 702, 6372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conti, R.C. and Nalesso, R.C. (2010) Status of the population structure of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Decapoda: Ocypodidae) on the Piraquê-Açu River Estuary, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 58, 8192.Google Scholar
Costa, R.S. (1979) Bioecologia do caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763). Boletim da Sociedade Cearense de Agronomia 20, 174.Google Scholar
Diele, K. and Koch, V. (2010) Growth and mortality of the exploited mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Ucididae) in N-Brazil. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 395, 171180.Google Scholar
Diele, K., Koch, V. and Saint-Paul, U. (2005) Population structure, catch composition and CPUE of the artisanally harvested mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Ocypodidae) in the Caeté estuary, North Brazil: indications for overfishing? Aquatic Living Resources 18, 169178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duarte, L.F.A., Duran, R.S., Mendonça, J.T. and Pinheiro, M.A.A. (2014) Fishery for the uçá crab Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) in a mangrove area in Cananéia, State of São Paulo, Brazil: fishery performance, exploitation patterns and factors affecting the catches. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 62, 187199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Firmo, A.M.S., Tognella, M.M.P., Walter, L.O.Có, Barboza, R.R.D. and Alves, R.R.N. (2011) Perceptions of environmental changes and lethargic crab disease among crab harvesters in a Brazilian coastal community. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 7, 34.Google Scholar
Glaser, M. and Diele, K. (2004) Asymmetric outcomes: assessing central aspects of the biological, economic and social sustainability of a mangrove crab fishery, Ucides cordatus (Ocypodidae), in North Brazil. Ecological Economics 49, 361373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Góes, P., Branco, J.O., Pinheiro, M.A.A., Barbieri, E., Costa, D. and Fernandes, L.L. (2010) Bioecology of the uçá-crab, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763), in Vitória Bay, Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 58, 153163.Google Scholar
Gomes, J.D., Abrunhosa, F.A., Simith, D.J.B. and Asp, N.E. (2013) Mangrove sedimentary characteristics and implications for crab Ucides cordatus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Ucididae) distribution in an estuarine area of the Amazonian region. Acta Amazonica 43, 481489.Google Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1982) Growth. In Abele, L.G. (ed.) The biology of Crustacea. New York, NY: Academic Press, pp. 11196.Google Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. and Bryant, A.D. (1990) Size-frequency distributions in decapod crustacea – the quick, the dead, and the cast-offs. Journal of Crustacean Biology 10, 1419.Google Scholar
Hattori, G.Y. (2006) Densidade populacional do caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763), na região de Iguape (SP). PhD thesis. Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brasil.Google Scholar
IBAMA – Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (2003a) Portaria no 034 /03-N, 24/06/2003.Google Scholar
IBAMA – Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (2003b) Portaria no 52, 30/09/2003.Google Scholar
Jennings, S., Reynolds, J.D. and Mills, S.C. (1998) Life history correlates of responses to fisheries exploitation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 265, 333339.Google Scholar
Koch, V. and Wolff, V.M. (2002) Energy budget and ecological role of mangrove epibenthos in the Caeté estuary, North Brazil. Marine Ecology Progress Series 228, 119130.Google Scholar
Leite, M.M.L., Rezende, C.F. and Silva, J.R.F. (2012) Tabela de vida do caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Decapoda: Ucididae), no manguezal do Rio Coreaú, Nordeste do Brasil. Arquivos de Ciência do Mar 45, 7581.Google Scholar
Macintosh, D.J. (1988) The ecology and physiology of decapods of mangrove swamps. In Fincham, A.A. and Rainbow, P.S. (eds) Aspects of decapod crustacean biology. Oxford: The Zoological Society of London, pp. 315341.Google Scholar
Medeiros, P.R.P. (2003) Aporte fluvial, transformação e dispersão da matéria em suspensão e nutrientes no estuário do Rio São Francisco, após a construção da Usina Hidrelétrica do Xingo (AL/SE). PhD thesis. Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.Google Scholar
Melo, G.A.S. (1996) Manual de identificação dos Brachyura (caranguejos e siris) do litoral brasileiro. São Paulo: Ed. Plêiade/FAPESP.Google Scholar
Maneschy, M.C. (1993) Pescadores nos manguezais: Estratégias técnicas e relações sociais de produção na captura de caranguejo. In Furtado, L.G., Leitão, W. and de Mello, A.F. (eds) Povos das Águas. Realidade e Perspectivas na Amazônia. Pará, Museu Paraense: PR/MCT/CNPq, pp. 1962.Google Scholar
Nagelkerken, I., Blaber, S.J.M., Bouillon, S., Green, P., Haywood, M., Kirton, L.G., Meynecke, J.O., Pawlik, J., Penrose, H.M., Sasekumar, A. and Somerfield, P.J. (2008) The habitat function of mangroves for terrestrial and marine fauna: a review. Aquatic Botany 89, 155185.Google Scholar
Nordhaus, I., Wolff, M. and Diele, K. (2006) Litter processing and population food intake of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus in a high intertidal forest in northern Brazil. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 67, 239250.Google Scholar
Oliveira, D.A.F. (2005) Distribuição Espacial do Caranguejo-Uçá, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ocypodidae). Monograph of course conclusion. São Vicente, Brazil: Universidade Estadual Paulista.Google Scholar
Passos, C.A. and Di Beneditto, A.P. (2005) Aspectos da captura comercial do caranguejo-uça, Ucides cordatus (L., 1763), no manguezal de Gargaú, RJ. Biotemas 18, 223231.Google Scholar
Pauly, D. (1998) Tropical fishes: patterns and propensities. Journal of Fish Biology 53, 117.Google Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Almeida, R. (2015) Monitoramento da População do Caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus (Brachyura: Ucididae). In Turra, A. and Denadai, M.R. (eds) Protocolos para o Monitoramento de Habitats Bentônicos Costeiros – Rede de Monitoramento de Habitats Bentônicos Costeiros – ReBentos. São Paulo: Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo, pp. 122133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A., Costa, T.M., Gadig, O.B.F. and Buchmann, F.S.C. (2008) Os Ecossistemas Costeiros e sua Biodiversidade na Baixada Santista. In Fontes, R.F.C., Oliveira, A.J.F.C. and Pinheiro, M.A.A. (eds) Panorama Ambiental da Baixada Santista. São Vicente: Universidade Estadual Paulista, pp. 521.Google Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A., Duarte, L.F.A., Toledo, T.R., Adams, M.A. and Torres, R.A. (2013) Habitat monitoring and genotoxicity in Ucides cordatus (Crustacea: Ucididae), as tools to manage a mangrove reserve in southeastern Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 185, 82738285. doi: 10.1007/s10661-013-3172-9.Google Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Fiscarelli, A.G. (2001) Manual de apoio à fiscalização do caranguejo-uçá (Ucides cordatus). Jaboticabal: UNESP/CEPSUL/IBAMA.Google Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A., Fiscarelli, A.G. and Hattori, G.Y. (2005) Growth of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Brachyura, Ocypodidae). Journal of Crustacean Biology 25, 293301.Google Scholar
Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Rodrigues, A.M.T. (2011) Crustáceos sobre-explotados e o Plano Nacional de Gestão dos caranguejos uçá (Ucides cordatus), guaiamú (Cardisoma guanhumi) e do siri-azul (Callinectes sapidus): uma estratégia para evitar que passem ao “status” de ameaçados de extinção. Revista CEPSUL – Biodiversidade e Conservação Marinha 2, 5057.Google Scholar
Piou, C., Berger, U. and Feller, I.C. (2009) Spatial structure of a leaf-removing crab population in a mangrove of North-Brazil. Wetlands Ecology and Management 17, 93106.Google Scholar
Rodrigues, A.M.T., Branco, E.J., Saccardo, A.S. and Blankensteyn, A. (2000) A explotação do caranguejo Ucides cordatus (Decapoda: Ocypodidae) e o processo de gestão participativa para normatização da atividade na região Sudeste-Sul do Brasil. Boletim do Instituto de Pesca 26, 6378.Google Scholar
Salgado Kent, C.P. and McGuinness, K.A. (2006) A comparison of methods for estimating relative abundance of grapsid crabs. Wetlands Ecology and Management 14, 19.Google Scholar
Sandrini-Neto, L. and Lana, P.C. (2011) Distribution patterns of the crab Ucides cordatus (Brachyura, Ucididae) at different spatial scales in subtropical mangroves of Paranaguá Bay (southern Brazil). Helgoland Marine Research 66, 167174.Google Scholar
Santos, C.M.H., Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Hattori, G.Y. (2009) Orientation and external morphology of burrows of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ucididae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89, 11171123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, L.C.M., Dahdouh-Guebas, F. and Bitencourt, M.D. (2013) Mangrove fisheries as base of subsistence economy in the São Francisco River Estuary (Northeastern Brazil): considerations for local management. In Proceedings of the XV Congreso Latinoamericano de Ciencias del Mar, Punta del Este, 27–31 October 2013.Google Scholar
Santos, L.C.M., Matos, H.R., Schaeffer-Novelli, Y., Cunha-Lignon, M., Bitencourt, M.D., Koedam, N. and Dahdouh-Guebas, F. (2014) Anthropogenic activities on mangrove areas (São Francisco River Estuary, Brazil Northeast): a GIS-based analysis of CBERS and SPOT images to aid in local management. Ocean and Coastal Management 89, 3950.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Semensatto, D.L. Jr (2004) O sistema estuarino-lagunar do Rio São Francisco (SE): análise ambiental com base no estudo de foraminíferos e tecamebas. PhD thesis. Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Júnior”, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brasil.Google Scholar
Schmidt, A.J., Oliveira, M.A., Souza, E.P., May, M. and Araújo, S.M.B. (2008a) Relação entre abertura de galeria e comprimento de cefalotórax do caranguejo-uçá Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Crustacea-Decapoda-Brachyura). Boletim Técnico Científico do CEPENE 16, 5158.Google Scholar
Schmidt, A.J., Theil, C.M.I. and Galli, O.B.S. (2008b) Estudos preliminares sobre efeitos de uma mortalidade em massa em uma população de caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura), em Caravelas (Bahia – Brasil). Boletim Técnico Científico do CEPENE 16, 4349.Google Scholar
Schories, D., Barletta-Bergan, A., Barletta, M., Krumme, U., Mehlig, U. and Rademaker, V. (2003) The keystone role of leaf-removing crabs in mangrove forests of North Brazil. Wetlands Ecology and Management 11, 243255.Google Scholar
Sergipe, (2004) Decreto do Governo do Estado de Sergipe n. 22.995 de 09 de novembro de 2004. Institui a criação da APA do Litoral Norte de Sergipe e dá outras providências correlatas. Aracaju/SE, 2004.Google Scholar
Skov, M.W., Vaninni, M., Shunula, J.P., Hartnoll, R.G. and Cannicci, S. (2002) Quantifying the density of mangrove crabs: Ocypodidae and Grapsidae. Marine Biology 141, 725732.Google Scholar
Souto, F.J.B. (2007) Uma abordagem etnoecológica da pesca do caranguejo, Ucides cordatus, Linnaeus, 1763 (Decapoda: Brachyura), no manguezal do Distrito de Acupe (Santo Amaro-BA). Biotemas 20, 6980.Google Scholar
Warren, J.H. (1990) The use of burrows to estimate abundances of intertidal estuarine crabs. Australian Journal of Ecology 15, 277280.Google Scholar
Wolff, M., Koch, V. and Isaac, V. (2000) A trophic flow model of the Caeté mangrove estuary (North Brazil) with considerations for the sustainable use of its resources. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 50, 115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wunderlich, A.C. and Pinheiro, M.A.A. (2013) Mangrove habitat partitioning by Ucides cordatus (Ucididae): effects of the degree of tidal flooding and tree-species composition during its life cycle. Helgoland Marine Research 67, 279289.Google Scholar
Wunderlich, A.C., Pinheiro, M.A.A. and Rodrigues, A.M.T. (2008) Biologia do caranguejo-uçá, Ucides cordatus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura), na Baía da Babitonga, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 25, 188198.Google Scholar