Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: BEATRIZ APARECIDA DE SOUZA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : BEATRIZ APARECIDA DE SOUZA
DATE: 05/04/2023
TIME: 15:00
LOCAL: Sala da Pós-graduação
TITLE:

O PAPEL DA COLORAÇÃO NA ESCOLHA DE PARCEIROS REPRODUTIVOS DE
DIFERENTES POPULAÇÕES DE CARANGUEJOS CHAMA-MARÉ

KEY WORDS:

Leptuca leptodactyla; visual signaling, body coloration; sexual selection;

PAGES: 18
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Psicologia
SUMMARY:

The body coloration of fiddler crabs is particularly important for recognizing conspecifics
and selecting breeding partners. The color of fiddler crabs can vary between populations due to
environmental differences existing in each location, such as different predation pressures or food
composition, and these divergences can be reinforced through sexual selection. This is exactly what
occurs in the hydrographic basin of the Ceará-mirim river, where a population of the Leptuca
leptodactyla from the mangrove area of the Aquaculture Technology Center (CTA) has a white
carapace and locomotor appendages, while individuals from another population, located near the
beach of Barra do Rio (BR) exhibit a grayish carapace color and locomotor appendages with varied
colors. A preliminary study showed that females from the CTA population prefer males from their
own population when presented with males from the CTA and BR. In this study, we aim to
investigate the influence of body color on the preference of females of L. leptodactyla from BR for
males from both populations, evaluating which visual signs of color (carapace, locomotor
appendages and hypertrophied chela) are more important in this discrimination. We will test three
hypotheses: (i) the primordial color signal related to female choice will be on the carapace; (ii)
female preference varies geographically; and as an alternative the second hypothesis, that (iii)
females prefer males that exhibit characteristics indicating sexual maturity, regardless of geographic
origin. We will conduct experiments in which females will choose between males with
characteristics of animals from their own population and animals with characteristics from the other
population. To do so, we will use non-toxic paints, which have been successfully used in previous
experiments with this same species, to create the different experimental groups and test the different
variables. Data analysis will be done using the binomial logistic regression model in the R software
(R Development Core Team). As predictions for hypothesis (i), we expect that females will not
show a significant preference for males in a population in the absence of carapace color cues. For
hypothesis (ii), we expect females to choose males from their own population. Regarding
hypothesis (iii), we expect females to choose whiter males, as this is a characteristic related to
reproductive maturity in the species.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interno - 1149552 - ARRILTON ARAUJO DE SOUZA
Presidente - 1476621 - DANIEL MARQUES DE ALMEIDA PESSOA