Changes in the activity budget of the fiddler crab Leptuca uruguayensis throughout the reproductive period in temperate estuaries.

Animal reproductive success implies the performance of several behaviours, such as courting, mate searching, copulation, offspring production and care. These behaviours usually have high energetic and ecological costs. Therefore, to maximise their reproductive success, animals should make choices throughout their lives, such as deciding how much energy to invest in different activities, according to their conditions and needs.

Species composition and abundance of free-living turbellarians in three different wetlands in Southern Brazil.

Free-living turbellarians mostly live in marine and freshwater environments, but they have been little considered in ecological studies. The coastal plain in southern Brazil harbors a diverse fauna and flora, but only a few studies have related environmental factors to the abundance, richness, and distribution of turbellarians. Hence, we analyzed the structure of turbellarian communities in floating vegetation in three differently sized limnic environments.

Plasticity of growth rates and sizes at sexual maturity in different populations of the fiddler crab Minuca vocator (Herbst, 1804) within the same latitudinal range.

The growth rates and size at maturity of decapod crustaceans usually vary throughout latitudes. Here, we evaluated whether these life history traits can be stable within the same latitude range, where some environmental factors are constant, especially temperature. To this end, we estimated and compared the growth rates and size at sexual maturity of three populations of the fiddler crab Minuca vocator, located at latitude 23° S, in mangroves of the subtropical Brazilian coast.

Female energy dynamics in the southernmost fiddler crab: Mixed breeding strategy in Leptuca uruguayensis.

At the south of its geographical distribution, the fiddler crab Leptuca uruguayensis shows two population spawning events, with more than 65 % of the females being ovigerous. The aim of this study was to assess the energy dynamics in L. uruguayensis females to estimate how they mix the capital and the income breeding strategies in the first and second spawns of the short reproductive season.

Factors Modulating the Female Reproductive Performance of the Fiddler Crab with Short Reproductive Season.

AbstractThis study aimed to evaluate the factors modulating the female reproductive performance of the fiddler crab (Nobili, 1901) during the short reproductive season of a temperate population. We proposed two modulating factors: the age of females (young and old) and the periods of the reproductive season (beginning, middle, and end); we then evaluated the fecundity, reproductive output, egg volume, and biochemical composition of eggs. The fecundity of was affected by the size of females, a variable related to their age.

Dynamics of energy reserves and the cost of reproduction in female and male fiddler crabs.

The physiological costs of reproduction can be measured as the energy allocated to reproductive activities. In fiddler crabs, females allocate energy to vitellogenesis and brooding, whereas males perform expensive courtship behaviors. We evaluated in a large-scale study the reproduction cost of females and males of Leptuca uruguayensis in a temperate estuary, where their reproductive efforts are synchronized in a short reproductive season.

Biodiversity of Coreoidea and Pentatomidae (Heteroptera) from Atlantic forest protected areas. Insights into their conservation.

Although the majority of threatened species are likely to be tropical insects, knowledge of the diversity, ecological role and impact of insect biodiversity loss on ecosystem processes is very limited. Specimens belonging to four families of Heteroptera: Pentatomidae, Coreidae, Alydidae and Rhopalidae, were collected from a protected area in the Paraná Forest, the largest ecoregion of the Atlantic Forest, in Argentina. The assemblages were characterized and the biodiversity estimated, and they were compared with the assemblages found in five other protected areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Diversity and distribution of epiphytic bromeliads in a Brazilian subtropical mangrove.

It is not unusual to find epiphytic bromeliads in mangroves, but most studies on mangrove vegetation do not record their presence. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity and distribution of epiphytic bromeliads in a subtropical mangrove. The richness, abundance and life form (atmospheric and tank) of bromeliads were recorded and compared among host tree species and waterline proximity.

Land planarian assemblages in protected areas of the interior atlantic forest: implications for conservation.

Land planarians are an interesting group of free-living flatworms that can be useful as bioindicators because of their high sensitivity to environmental changes and low dispersal capacity. In this study, we describe and compare assemblages of land planarians from areas with different conservation degrees of the Interior Atlantic Forest (Misiones, Argentina), and assess factors that could be related to their abundance and richness. Eight sites were tracked in search of land planarians in Reserva de Vida Silvestre Urugua-í (RVSU) and Campo Anexo Manuel Belgrano (CAMB).

Feeding preference of the South American endemic anomuran Aegla platensis (Decapoda, Anomura, Aeglidae).

In order to determine the feeding preference of Aegla platensis in streams and the importance of microorganisms in its detritivore diet, we carried out two experiments designed to evaluate the food preferences of A. platensis (1) among leaves with different levels of microbial colonization and (2) among insect larvae (Chironomidae, Simuliidae, Hydropsychidae) and microbially conditioned leaves. A.

The correlation between subordinate fish eye colour and received attacks: a negative social feedback mechanism for the reduction of aggression during the formation of dominance hierarchies.

Eye darkening has been linked to social status in fish. The subordinate's eyes darken, while the eyes of the dominant fish become pale. Although this phenomenon has been described in salmonid fishes and in the African cichlid Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, it is unclear whether eye darkening correlates with a reduction in aggressive behaviour.