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The salinity during larval development affects the dispersion in adults of the tree-climbing crab Aratus pisonii

ABSTRACT Adults of the tree-climbing crab Aratus pisonii occur in estuarine regions with a range of salinity of 0–35. However, the larvae cannot complete the development in a wide range of salinities. A study about the effect of salinity on the larval development was conducted in order to infer about adult dispersion and occurrence in a wide range of salinity. Two experiments were conducted: (1) from zoae I to megalopae stage and (2) from megalopa to juvenile stage. Larvae from eight females from Paranaguá Bay, Paraná, Brazil were obtained. After eclosion, for the first experiment, 100 zoea larvae from five females were acclimated, individualized and transferred to small aquariums with five distinct salinity treatments (S0, S5, S15, S25 and S35). For the second experiment, 50 megalopae from three females were individualized in aquariums in the same salinity treatments. Both experiments were conducted in incubator BOD with a constant temperature of 25°C and photoperiod of 12 hours (light/dark). Larvae were fed daily with eggs and naupli newly hatched of Artemia sp. The salinity affected the survival rate during the development in both experiments. Higher survival from zoea I to megalopa stage occurred in salinities 25 and 35 PSU, while from megalopa to juvenile stage in salinities 15 and 25 PSU. In both experiments the larvae did not tolerate low salinities as adults, with total mortality in S0 and S5. Our results suggest that the species have a larval export strategy of zoae larvae to oceanic regions (higher salinities) and megalopae needed to return to estuarine areas with intermediate salinities to complete the development. The occurrence of adults in estuarine areas with low (< 5 PSU) or high (> 25 PSU) salinities most likely occur after the metamorphosis to the juvenile stage by terrestrial dispersion or at the stage of megalopa (marine dispersion) during favourable weather events.