AGE AND GROWTH OF CALLINECTES DANAE (BRACHYURA: PORTUNIDAE) IN A TROPICAL REGION

Some 2178 male and 2109 female Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 were caught in Northeastern Brazil, from March 2009 through February 2010; we reared 24 males and 24 females for 6 months. The relative growth (relation between weight and cephalothorax width) showed negative allometry, except in adult males. The females presented marked changes in relative size of the fifth pleomere as they matured, while the males showed changes in chela size. As rearing progressed, the females underwent ecdysis five times while the males underwent ecdysis six times. The puberal molt was the last to occur. The von Bertalanffy growth model (with t(0)) provided the best fit, when compared to the von Bertalanffy (with CW0), von Bertalanffy (with t(0) = 0), Gompertz, and Richard models. The following growth functions for reared individuals were obtained: CWt = 9.88(1-exp(-0.0228(t+14.27))) and CWt = 8.02(1-exp(-0.0158(t+26.23))). For wild individuals the growth functions were as follows: CWt = 12.12(1 - exp(-0.0052(t + 29.36))) and CWt = 9.48(1 - exp(-0.0036(t + 59.04))), for males and females, respectively. The individuals reached smaller sizes in the rearing system; however, the growth rate was higher. The mean longevity ranged from 375 to 429 days for males and from 458 to 553 for females. The maximum longevity ranged from 550 to 860 and from 764 to 1205 days, for males and females, respectively.