Assembly of Decapod Crustaceans Associated with Algae Community on Sandstone Reefs of an Urban Beach, Pernambuco, Brazil

Due to its social, economic, and ecological importance and because it is an area of intense human interaction, this study sought to assess the Crustacea, Decapoda fauna of the urban beach of Boa Viagem, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, and, consequently, to understand the anthropogenic interaction of this fauna. From August 2016 to July 2017, monthly trawl collections were made in macroalgae meadows associated with sandstone reefs at two points, considering beach occupancy, time of day and seasonality as factors. A total of 665 specimens were collected, distributed among  23 decapods species. Acanthonyx petiverii and Epialtus bituberculatus were the most frequent species at the points investigated, and between periods of day, Hippolyte obliquimanus and Callinectes spp. were most frequent in the area with the greatest amount of phytal, Point 2. Point 1/Diurnal was found to have the lowest richness, abundance, and density. Both Margalef’s and Shannon’s diversity indices were low between points and periods of day; however, Point 1/Diurnal had the lowest indices, in contrast to Simpson’s index. At Point 2, higher values were found for the calculated indices. Significant differences were only found in abundance between Point 1 and Point 2. Thus, Boa Viagem beach is an important area for the conservation of decapod crustacean fauna; however, the integrity of the macroalgal assemblage is a crucial factor for these animals.