Meeting Abstract

P3.29  Thursday, Jan. 6  Rediscovering a Lost Crab Genus: Aegla within the Interior Atlantic Forest of Canindeyú, Paraguay SATTERLEE, S.A.*; KUHLE, C.W.; RAMÍREZ-PINTO, F.; FERNÁNDEZ, S.; VELÁZQUEZ, M.C.; JACKSON, L.; ZUERCHER, G.L.; TAYLOR, M.S.; Southeast Missouri State University sasatterlee1s@semo.edu

In 1985, Aegla spp. (Crustacea: Aeglidae) were collected by Dr. John Kochalka within the Rio Tebicaury in Itapua, Paraguay on the northwestern face of the San Rafael Mountains. Two years later, following severe deforestation, Aegla had vanished from Rio Tebicaury. In 1998, Kochalka surveyed additional sites in close proximity to the original site but Aegla were still absent, leading to his conclusion that the genus was perhaps extirpated throughout Paraguay due to wide-scale deforestation. However, recent benthic surveys of the upper Rio Jejui watershed of the Mbaracayú Forest Biosphere Reserve (MFBR) of Canindeyú, Paraguay has shown Aegla are currently present within the country. Approximately 500 specimens were collected from streams and rivers of the MFBR including Arroyo Guazú, Rio Jejui-mi, Arroyo Siete Montes, and Arroyo Tacuara. Population genetic studies are being pursued to determine whether the MFBR aeglid populations show a genetic signature of population collapse or expansion.