Abundancia y tallas de Menippe mercenaria (Crustacea: Brachyura), en refugios artificiales en Quintana Roo, México / Abundance and body size of Menippe mercenaria (Crustacea: Brachyura), in artificial refuges in Quintana Roo, Mexico

RESUMO

In Florida and Cuba the stone crab Menippe mercenaria (Say, 1818) is under strong fishing-pressure; nevertheless in the Mexican Caribbean it is considered as sub-utilized and poorly known resource. Artificial shelters ("condominios cubanos") were used to study relative abundance, age structure, claw length-carapace amplitude relation, and population in three seasons and four sectors at BahÝa Ascension, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The abundance varied according to the sector and sampling season population was higher in the south and during the north wind ("Nortes") season (January to March). The carapace amplitude was directly proportional to claw length (r2 = 0.83, 0.97 and 0.89; p < 0.05 in females, males and total, respectively). The results suggest that specimens with 37.5 and 67.5 mm of carapace amplitude are the most limited regarding refuge availability in the Bay.