Factors modulating the female reproductive performance of the fiddler crab Leptuca uruguayensis with short reproductive season

MARCIANO, AGUSTINA; LOPEZ-GRECO, LAURA S.; COLPO, KARINE D

BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

Lugar: Woods Hole; Año: 2022 vol. 242 p. 16 - 26

0006-3185

This study aimed to evaluate the factors modulating the female reproductiveperformance of the fiddler crab Leptuca uruguayensis (Nobili, 1901) during the shortreproductive season of a temperate population. We proposed two modulating factors:the age of females (young and old) and the periods of the reproductive season(beginning, middle and end), and then evaluated fecundity, reproductive output, eggvolume, and biochemical composition of eggs. The fecundity of L. uruguayensis wasaffected by the size of females, a variable related to their age. Although young femalesshowed lower fecundity, the reproductive output was not affected by the age or by theperiods of the reproductive season, suggesting a constant reproductive effort,proportional to female size. The egg volume decreased, and carotenoid contentincreased at the end of the season for both female ages, probably as a consequenceof variations in food availability and changes in the breeding strategies during theseason. However, the content of protein and lipids in the egg clutches decreased at theend of the season only in old females spawning for the second time in the season. Themain differences in the reproductive parameters were recorded between the beginningand the end of the reproductive season, probably because in these periods femalesexclusively use one of the breeding strategies. Finally, we determined that both factors,i.e. female age and the periods of the short reproductive season, can modulate thereproductive performance of L. uruguayensis in temperate estuaries