Shrimps and Prawns

CERVELLINI PATRICIA; PIERINI JORGE OMAR

The Bahia Blanca estuary. Ecology and Biodiversity

Springer Nature

Lugar: Cham; Año: 2021; p. 253 - 274

This chapter describes the main biological traits and life cycles of the threeshrimp species (Crustacea, Decapoda) present in the Bahía Blanca Estuary,which were selected because of their ecological and economic relevance.Two of these species belong to the Superfamily Penaeoidea, the Argentineanred shrimp Pleoticus muelleri (Family Solenoceridae) and the stiletto shrimpArtemesia longinaris (Family Penaeidae), both of which are targets for thelocal artisanal fshery. The third species is a small shrimp, which belongs to theSuperfamily Sergestoidea: Peisos petrunkevitchi (Family Sergestidae) whichplays an important ecological role in coastal food webs. Adults of these speciesseasonally migrate offshore with reproductive purposes. Fertilization andspawning, as well as larval and postlarval development, occur in deep watersout of the estuary, where abiotic factors, mainly salinity, are more constantand resemble those of the continental shelf. Shrimp life cycle completes whenjuveniles migrate into the estuary, which provides shelter and abundant foodresources to achieve the adult stage. Fishing of commercial species in theestuary has strong seasonal and inter-annual oscillations. Analysis of long timeseries of landing data suggests that seasonal fluctuations may be related to thereproductive behavior, while inter-annual variability may respond to climaticconditions.