Efeito da amputação das quelas sobre o comportamento canibalístico de Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) (Crustacea, Palaemonidae) em condições de laboratório

Abstract

The present experiment was carried out in the Zoology Laboratory of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil. The effect of the chelae’s removal of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879), was tested in order to verify cannibalistic behaviour. Newly-molted individuals were kept in individuals shelter-less tanks and exposed to intermolt conspecific with chelae’s ablation of the cheliped and with chelaes’s intacts of the cheliped. The animals were fed daily, ad libitum, with commercial ration FSH 30. The tanks were cleaned by siphon. The results showed evidences that individuals of M. rosenbergii with amputed chelae, do not exhibited cannibalistic behaviour, nor caused physical damage to theirs coespecifics. However, individuals with entire chelaes were able of cannibalism or even to cause cannibalistic mutilations.