Influência das tocas de caranguejos chama-maré (gêneros Minuca e Leptuca) no desenvolvimento de mangues plantados para a recuperação de uma área degradada no manguezal do rio Pacoti, CE

Abstract

The mangrove forests are transitional ecosystems among the marine and terrestrial environments that performs an important role to their associated fauna because it provides a favorable habitat to the reproduction of the several species, development of the food web and your several other environmental conditions that allow these ecosystems to be the main habitat to numerous species of animals. Over the years, part of these habitats has been lost due to human interference as well as other aggregated factors, such as effluent outflow, deforestation and social struggles. The fiddler crabs are very prominent inhabitants of these ecosystems, where they play an important role in the cycling of nutrients and in the soil aeration due to their distinct habit of digging and excavating burrows. On the mangroves of the Pacoti river there ́s a restoration project being developed inside a saltwork that has been deactivated and abandoned for over 30 years. This project consists of the hydrological recovery of the area through the opening of water canals and the planting of mangrove. The purpose of this paper is to confirm if the fiddler crabs can influence the development of the plants. Therefore, 937 healthy seedlings of Rhizophora mangle was planted in the channels over 30 cm away from which other at the ending of March 2017 and their development (height and stalk) was measured and observed since then. The burrow counting was measured through a tube quadrat with 0,25m2 in dimension (0,5 cm) positioned along channel borders and spread on portions equidistant with a minimal distance equivalent to 3m. Abiotics parameters such as salinity, temperature, soil humidity, organic mater and granulometry was performed on the channel area. The results showed that the seedling survival of Rhizophora mangle was 60% after 20 months with the natural establishment of Avicennia spp. and Laguncularia racemosa on the channel area, where they reached a great development. Simultaneously the fiddler crab density grew up on the planting area compared to the control area, which indicate a nearly relationship between the seedling development and the crab presence. Likewise the soil parameters was modified by the crab presence due the burrowing activity. These data reveals that the presence of crab communities are highly associated to the mangrove recovery and must be regarded on the mangrove rehabilitation protocols management.