Natural Recovery of the Crab Ucides cordatus (Ocypodidae) in Replanted Mangroves on the Brazilian Amazon Coast
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Natural Recovery of the Crab Ucides cordatus (Ocypodidae) in Replanted Mangroves on the Brazilian Amazon Coast Biatriz Prestes de Aviz 1 & Darlan de Jesus de Brito Simith 1,2
&
Marcus Emanuel Barroncas Fernandes 1
Received: 23 January 2019 / Accepted: 26 July 2019 # Society of Wetland Scientists 2019
Abstract The recovery of degraded mangroves may favor the reestablishment of the diversity and abundance of benthic organisms, including those of commercial importance. Here, we assessed (i) the degree of population recovery of the exploited mangrove crab Ucides cordatus in nine areas of replanted mangroves, and (ii) the influence of dominant mangrove species on density and population parameters of this species. Our results indicate that the U. cordatus population has been reestablished successfully in all replanted areas. A total of 1620 inhabited burrows (1.8 ± 0.5 burrows m−2) were counted, and 423 crabs were captured (57.7% males and 42.3% females). Almost a third (33.2%) of the male crabs was of legally harvestable size (6.4 ± 0.3 cm carapace width), while the others (66.8%; 5.0 ± 0.8 cm) can be considered for future fishery. The densities of burrows were higher in areas dominated by R. mangle and L. racemosa. Both males and females were larger in areas dominated by L. racemosa, while they were heavier at the sites dominated by R. mangle and L. racemosa. The return of the local crab population exhibiting density and structure similar to those found in preserved habitats highlights the success of the rehabilitation of impacted mangroves. Keywords Conservation . Crab density . Fishery stock . Population structure . Mangrove rehabilitation
Introduction Mangroves are forest formations found in tidal coastal environments in tropical and subtropical regions (Lugo and Snedaker 1974; Saenger 2002; Along 2008; Giri et al. 2011). Mangroves are among the most productive forests in the tropics (Donato et al. 2011) and play a fundamentally important role in the ecological dynamics of estuaries, including the protection of the shoreline from natural disasters (e.g., tsunamis and hurricanes), the attenuation of waves and tidal forces, and the reduction of coastal erosion (Mazda et al. 1997, 2006, 2007; Spalding et al. 1997, 2014; Barbier 2006; Alongi
* Darlan de Jesus de Brito Simith [email protected] 1
Laboratório de Ecologia de Manguezal (LAMA), Instituto de Estudos Costeiros (IECOS), Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPa), Campus Universitário de Bragança, Alameda Leandro Ribeiro s/n, Aldeia, Bragança, Pará 68600-000, Brazil
2
Laboratório de Carcinologia, Instituto de Estudos Costeiros (IECOS), Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPa), Campus Universitário de Bragança, Alameda Leandro Ribeiro s/n, Aldeia, Bragança, Pará 68600-000, Brazil
2008). The mangrove ecosystem is also a zone of high biological productivity that provides important shelter and nursery areas for countless marine and freshwater species, in addition to providing local estuarine-coastal communities with essential goods and services (Barbier
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