Effect of urbanization and water quality on microplastic distribution in Conceição Lagoon watershed, Brazil.

Urbanization in watersheds leads to the introduction of sources of microplastics and other pollutants in water bodies. However, the effect of urbanization on microplastic pollution and the relationship between microplastics and water quality are not well understood. We assessed the distribution of microplastics in tributaries urbanized, non-urbanized and in the receiving lagoon body of Conceição Lagoon watershed.

Sexual Maturity of an Endemic Insular Land Crab: Priority Information toward the Conservation of .

AbstractInsular land crabs (Gecarcinidae) can transit between terrestrial and aquatic environments and inhabit vacant ecological niches that other species do not occupy in oceanic islands. During the reproductive period, these crabs migrate between residential and reproductive areas; this is a critical moment because individuals are more vulnerable to stressful conditions, especially species occupying anthropized islands. Currently, many insular crab species are considered threatened; yet few studies have evaluated the biology of this group, especially the size at which individuals reach sexual maturity.

Macroscale patterns of oceanic zooplankton composition and size structure.

Ocean plankton comprise organisms from viruses to fish larvae that are fundamental to ecosystem functioning and the provision of marine services such as fisheries and CO sequestration. The latter services are partly governed by variations in plankton community composition and the expression of traits such as body size at community-level. While community assembly has been thoroughly studied for the smaller end of the plankton size spectrum, the larger end comprises ectotherms that are often studied at the species, or group-level, rather than as communities.

nov. sp. a new species of shrimp from the south coast of Brazil with a key to species of (Caridea: Lysmatidae) recorded in the southwestern Atlantic.

sp. nov. inhabits temperate waters in the south coast of Brazil and is named in tribute to the Marine Protected Area REBIO Arvoredo.

Extending the southern range of four shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Stenopodidae, Hippolytidae and Alpheidae) in southwestern Atlantic (27S) and confirming the presence of Mediterranean Stenopus spinosus Risso, 1827 in Brazil.

In subtidal zones, certain shrimp species with cryptic behaviour represent a gap in the biodiversity description in many places in the world. This study extends the southern limit of Stenopus hispidus (Oliver, 1811), Alpheus formosus Gibbes, 1850, Alpheus cf. packardii Kingsley, 1880 and Lysmata ankeri Rhyne & Lin, 2006 to Santa Catarina State-Brazil, 27S.

Large-scale ichthyoplankton and water mass distribution along the South Brazil Shelf.

Ichthyoplankton is an essential component of pelagic ecosystems, and environmental factors play an important role in determining its distribution. We have investigated simultaneous latitudinal and cross-shelf gradients in ichthyoplankton abundance to test the hypothesis that the large-scale distribution of fish larvae in the South Brazil Shelf is associated with water mass composition. Vertical plankton tows were collected between 21°27' and 34°51'S at 107 stations, in austral late spring and early summer seasons.

A molecular method for the detection of sally lightfoot crab larvae (Grapsus grapsus, Brachyura, Grapsidae) in plankton samples.

The decapod Grapsus grapsus is commonly found on oceanic islands of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the Americas. In this study, a simple, quick and reliable method for detecting its larvae in plankton samples is described, which makes it ideal for large-scale studies of larval dispersal patterns in the species.