GEOSCIENCES MEETING
B R A Z I L - T E X A S A &M U N I V E R S I T Y
SCIENCE AND EDUCATION INTERNATIONALIZATION
IMPACT OF THE FISHERIES ON THE POPULATION OF CALLICHIRUS MAJOR
(SAY, 1818) (CALLIANASSIDAE) AT PIEDADE BEACH, PERNAMBUCO
Flavio A. Alves-Júnior1, Marina S. L. C. Araújo2, Petrônio A. Coelho3
1
[email protected] (Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE)
[email protected] (UFPE)
3
in memoriam (UFPE & Universidade Federal de Alagoas)
2
The crustaceans of the Infraorder Axiidea are characterized by its burrowing behavior in
sandy and muddy beaches. Among the representatives of this group, stands out the species
Callichirus major, that is distributed along the West Atlantic coast, since North Carolina to
the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Due to its easy collection, low cost and the conservation of
the animal alive, it is widely used as live bait. This exploration in the Brazilian littoral is
recent, when compared to other countries, but the rapid diffusion of this technique leads to the
overexploitation of the population. This fisheries activity may affect negatively the population
structure, its distribution along the coast and their reproduction and development. The present
work studies the impact of the fisheries of C. major, known as "corruptos" or ghost shrimp, to
serve as live baits, at the sandy beach of Piedade, State of Pernambuco. Samplings were
accomplished during six months, being three samplings in the dry period (December 2010,
January and February 2011) and three in the rainy period (March to May 2011). Three
sampling points were delimited along the beach (initial, median and final portions) and
transects of 1m² were thrown from the intertidal to the infralittoral zone. The animals were
removed from their burrows with a suction pump, fixed in alcohol 70% concentrated, and at
laboratory, they were identified, sexed and measured. The sex-ratio was compared using the
χ² test. Parallel, the abiotic factors (rainfall, burrow and air temperature, salinity) were
obtained. The results here obtained were compared with the available literature. The mean
rainfall was 310 mm, the mean burrow temperature was 27.7°C, the mean air temperature was
31.1°C and the mean salinity was 34.5. A total of 280 individuals of C. major were collected,
being 125 males (71 juveniles and 54 adults) and 155 females (102 juveniles, 47 adults and 6
ovigerous). The sex-ratio was 1:1.6 (♂:♀). Despite of the females being more abundant, the χ²
test did not detect significant differences in the number of males and females (χ² = 3.21; p >
0.05). The mean density of burrows was 3.9 burrows/m². The mean biomass was 7.1g.
Comparing the mean density of burrows and biomass obtained in the present study with the
results of a previous study, accomplished 10 years ago, it can be noticed a sharp diminution of
these values, which is related to the increase in the number of collectors at the beach.
Probably, this impact on the population may affect the recruitment and reproduction of the
species.
March 26-29, 2012
Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil
Abstract P-12