Characterization bioecological and population of three communities of crustaceans decapods on the coast north-west of the state Sucre, Venezuela

The development of a fishery industry in any country requires biological, ecological and marketing studies about the natural source to be exploited. In this sense, decapods crustaceans in the communities of Punta Araya, Chacopata and Playa Patilla in Sucre State-Venezuela were studied for thirteen months. A total of 1826 crabs, belonging to 7 families, including 16 species and 1 subspecies, were collected. Crab biodiversity, equivalence, abundance, dominance, permanence and affinity amongst the 3 localities, as well as the gender proportion and population recruitment of the 3 main crab species present at each locality were analyzed. Crab total biodiversity was 1,22 bits/ind., equivalence oscillated between 0,16 y 0,85; abundance varied from 0,27 to 1,36. The species Callinectes ornatus was the unique species constantly found on the communities studied and also the more abundant on each locality; showing an average value of 79,63% and a gender proportion of 1:1. The average crabshells length and biomass were 65,12 mm ± 22,03 and 20,91g ±18,87, respectively; both parameters showed higher for the male than female gender. A comparison of the growth equation obtained indicate that C. ornatus has a major alometric growth with recruitment all over the year but showing two main peaks on March and October. The physic-chemical parameters were similar for the three localities studied, except during the upwelling periods where the phytoplankton blooms providing higher food availability not only for crab larvae development but also for many other organisms. The crab C. ornatus might become an important element of basic fisheries that could contribute to improve the socio-economic status of the fishery communities settled on the east coast of Venezuela; however, it is necessary to carry out additional biological studies in order to achieve potential steady fisheries. El desarrollo sustentable de la industria pesquera de un país, requiere necesariamente del conocimiento biológico, ecológico y económico de sus recursos pesqueros. En este sentido, durante 13 meses, se estudiaron los crustáceos decápodos en las comunidades de Punta Araya, Chacopata y Playa Patilla del estado Sucre, Venezuela. Se colectó un total de 1.826 crustáceos decápodos pertenecientes a 16 especies y 1 subespecie, distribuidos en 7 familias. Se estudió la abundancia, diversidad, equitabilidad, dominancia, riqueza, constancia, afinidad entre comunidades, proporción sexual y estructura poblacional de las