Micro-space distributions of freshwater prawns at the Paraná River

COLLINS P.

Florianopolis Brasil

Congreso; 3rd Brazilian Crustacean Congress and 2004 and The Crustacean Society Summer Meeting; 2004

The Brazilian Crustacean Society & The Crustacean Society

In the Paraná Medio River floodplain, two sympatric species of prawn, Palaemonetes argentinus and Macrobrachium borellii live. Both of them are completely freshwater species and there are not apparent habitat differences. The aim of the work is to analyze the distribution of these prawns in the micro-space, a mechanisms that would allow tehm to differentiate some niches dimension so that they can coexist. P. argentinus, earlier invader of the continental aquatic environment of La Plata system, would be more elastic to the abiotics and biotics conditions and that M. borellii induces to that the smallest species modifies some niches dimension.