Degree of aggregation of Callichirus sp. (Crustacea: Callianassidae) at Boqueirão Beach, Santos-SP Bruno Paes De-Carli, Ana Carolina Herrmann, Raísa Moraes, Robert W. Ferreira, Gabriel Freire, Nayhara de Carvalho, Nicholas Mazer, Luana Lima

Abstract

The burrowing crustacean known as “corrupto” is widely distributed on Brazilian beaches and in some places is used as bait for fishing. Its populations occupy the intertidal region, building galleries in the sediment. This study aimed to determine the degree of aggregation (IA) of a population of Callichirus sp. on Boqueirão beach, Santos-SP. For this purpose, the holes were counted by applying the sub-region and nearest neighbor methods through a transect. The density ranged from 0 to 10 individuals/m². Based on the results of the sub-regions, it was found that the crustacean population is not uniformly distributed, rejecting the null hypothesis.