Growth and maturity of the spider crab Halicarcinus planatus (Brachyura: Hymenosomatidae) females in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Can these parameters be influenced by the population sex ratio?

Abstract

The Halicarcinus planatus populations of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean show a highly variable sex ratio and a large size overlapping between females in the last immature instar (ADO) and mature (MAT) females. We hypothesized that these facts are related and that female impregnation has a central role in this relation. Non-impregnated ADO females delay maturity and would continue to grow, leading to size overlapping. This scenario is most probable in populations with a scarcity of males and could affect the growth, maturity and population structure. The sex ratio and female size distribution of several populations of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean were analysed. Growth and maturity were studied in two populations with different sex ratios (Camarones, a population with males, and Rada Tilly, a population where no males were found). Size overlapping was not related to the population sex ratio. Size overlapping was due to a variable moult increment and, to a lesser extent, to delayed maturity. Females mated before terminal moult in both populations. However, in Camarones, physiological maturity was not related to impregnation, while in Rada Tilly, vitellogenic oocytes were observed only in impregnated females. Also, differences in the number of spermatophores in female spermathecae were related to the sex ratio. Our results showed that the morphological maturity pattern of females was not influenced by the population sex ratio. However, physiological maturity was related to female impregnation and sex ratio. Also, the variation in the number of spermatophores suggests differences in the mating system related to the sex ratio.