3.4 Biología reproductiva y morfología funcional

LAURA LÓPEZ GRECO

Crustaceos Decapodos Estuarinos do Estado de Sao Paulo

UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brasil

Lugar: Sao Paulo, Brasil; Año: 2007;

3.4 Biología reproductiva y morfología funcional Laura López Greco   Dra. Laura S. López Greco Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biologia Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, Núñez (C1428EHA), Buenos Aires, Argentina. laura@bg.fcen.uba.ar   Reproductive biology and functional morphology In the present chapter some aspects about the reproductive biology that have not been studied in the estuarine areas of São Paulo are presented and their relation with theoretical and applied aspects is discussed. The main feature is the lacking of studies about functional morphology of the reproductive system in decapod crustaceans like the study of the sexual differentiation, the factors that modulate this process or the functional anatomy of the reproductive structures involved in sperm transfer and/or sperm reception and their relationships with the evolution and complexity of the mating systems among others. Such aspect of the functional morphology mainly related to the gonads structure, vasa deferentia, oviducts, seminal receptacles, spermathecae, sperm and spermatophore morphology could be usefull tools for the understanding of ancestral or derived reproductive patterns, the phenotipic plasticity of the sexual systems and its usefulness to clarify phylogenetic trends within the decapod taxa. The applied aspects towards crustacean aquaculture are also indicated. Because of the great decapod biovidersity in the estuarine areas of São Paulo State and the actual knowledge of the reproductive biology of the studied species there is a unique opportunity to develop new research in reproductive functional morphology that could be integrated with other ecological aspect (e.g. reproductive periodicity, size at the onset of maturity and fecundity) of crustaceans reproduction.   Palabras chaves: morfologia funcional, sistemas sexuales, aspectos teóricos y aplicados, filogenia Key words: functional morphology, sexual systems, theoretical and applied aspects, phylogeny