Comportamento, ritmo de atividade e arquitetura das galerias de Uca maracoani (Latreille, 1802) e Minuca rapax (Smith, 1870)

Abstract

This study aimed to elaborate the behavioral budget and to obtain the level of annual activity on the surface as well as the shape of the galleries of Uca maracoani and Minuca rapax, which coexist in the intertidal region of the Curuperé mangrove, Curuçá, Pará, During four sequential lunar periods, from October to December of 2013, the behavior of the species was shot to obtain the budget. The annual activity of the species was evaluated by shooting the number of active animals and galleries at four sites along the river. To evaluate the shape and distribution of the galleries paraffin casts were obtained in two stations with mud sediment and sand-muddy. In the ethogram of the species, ninety-five behaviors were recorded, grouped into the categories: Feeding, Reproductive, Walking and Running, Acoustics and Sysmics, Territorial, Agonistic, Maintenance and Grooming. The following categories were important to differentiate the energy budget of the species: Feeding, Territorial, Acoustics, Reproductive. Considering the difference of niches of males and females of the same species, the following behaviors are noteworthy: Feeding, Walking and Running, Territorial, Maintenance, Acoustics and Sysmics, Reproductive, Grooming. A great amount of rainfall (February) and low humidity (October) decreased animals activity at the surface, while the climate in June allowed a higher activity of these animals at the surface. Despite some similarities in the architecture of the galleries of the two species, the differences in volume and depth suggest that they present individual scales that are very different from influences in the bioturbation process. However, this process can be counterbalanced by the population density of each species and its activity rate.