Abstract The movement of ships between continents is one of the leading causes of the increased bioinvasion of benthic organisms, surpassing the geographical barriers that prevent the natural dispersal of species. Artificial floating structures, such as buoys, can also serve as secondary dispersers in the introduction of exotic species on a regional scale. This study describes the fauna associated with buoys demarcating the access channel to Paraná’s ports, focusing on recording introduced invasive species. Biota samples were collected from 23 buoys from different estuary sectors and some on their fastening chains, resulting in 73 samples. A total of 88 taxa were identified, of which half were sessile organisms and half, vagile. All observed taxa were previously recorded in the region, but introduced species clearly predominate among the sessile organisms colonizing the buoys, representing over half of the taxa determined at the species level. Buoys showed differentiated communities depending on their estuary location, with introduced species accounting for a larger share of the fauna on buoys in more saline sectors, reflecting their adaptations to oceanographic factors such as marine influence and tidal-driven water exchanges or an ecophysiological barrier caused by lower salinities in the inner estuary. Considering the negative effects of non-native species in natural environments and economic activity, the facilitating action of artificial floating substrates like signaling buoys highlights the need for environmental monitoring programs and more frequent maintenance of these structures to help control bioinvasions. scale Paranás Paraná s ports 2 chains 7 8 identified vagile region level location tidaldriven tidal driven nonnative non native activity bioinvasions

This work aims to estimate the average size at the onset of morphological and physiological sexual maturity and the reproductive period of Callinectes danae. Specimens were captured from a shrimp fishing boat equipped with a trawl net from March 2009 to February 2010. After sorting, crabs were sexed, and the following morphometric dimensions were measured: carapace width (CW), length and height of the major (MAP and HMAP), and the minor cheliped propodus (MIP and HMIP) for both sexes, and the abdominal width for females (AW). The onset of morphological maturity was estimated with the REGRANS program, in which the inflection point is calculated. The size at the onset of physiological maturity was determined by logistic regressions fitted to the relationships between the percentages of juvenile and adult individuals of each CW. A total of 893 individuals were sampled. Of these individuals, 389 were males, 472 non-ovigerous females, and 32 ovigerous females. The CW ranged from 19.81 to 117.17 mm for males, 19.91 to 113.11 mm for non-ovigerous females, and 70.55 to 88.60 mm for ovigerous females. Morphological sexual maturity was attained at 86.47 mm CW (males) and 67.87 mm CW (females). The size at the onset of physiological maturity was calculated to be 86.50 mm CW (males) and 67.00 mm CW (females). Due to the closeness of these values, both techniques were deemed suitable for determination of the onset of sexual maturity in C. danae. This species reproduces throughout the year, but reproduction is more intense during the winter. Mature males are present throughout the year. Data from this investigation will help resource managers to develop strategies that will ensure a sustainable harvest of this important species of swimming crab in southern Brazil.

Uma chave de identificação foi elaborada para as espécies de caprelídeos registradas no litoral dos estados do Paraná e de Santa Catarina. Os exemplares examinados fazem parte do acervo de coleções científicas ou são provenientes de coletas realizadas nestes estados. Nove espécies pertencentes à família Caprellidae, das quais oito Caprellinae - Caprella danilevskii, Caprella dilatata, Caprella equilibra, Caprella penantis, Caprella scaura, Mayerella sp., Paracaprella pusilla e Pseudaeginella montoucheti - e uma Phtisicinae - Phtisica marina - foram tratadas no presente estudo.

An identification key was produced for caprellid species recorded from the coast of Paraná and Santa Catarina states, Southern Brazil. Analyzed specimens are part of scientific collections or were obtained from nature, within these states. Nine caprellid belonging to the family Caprellidae, from which eight of Caprellinae - Caprella danilevskii, Caprella dilatata, Caprella equilibra, Caprella penantis, Caprella scaura, Mayerella sp., Paracaprella pusilla e Pseudaeginella montoucheti - and one Phtisicinae - Phtisica marina - were treated in the present study.