Sexual and seasonal variations in osmoregulation and ionoregulation in the estuarine crab Chasmagnathus granulatus (Crustacea, Decapoda)

The estuarine crab Chasmagnathus granulatus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) inhabits salt marshes along the South Atlantic coast from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to Patagonia (Argentina). In the present study, salinity tolerance (0–45‰; 16–1325 mOsm/kg H2O) and hemolymph osmotic and ionic (Na+, Cl−, and K+) regulation in both female and male C. granulatus were analyzed in summer and winter. Results showed that both female and male C. granulatus …