Asentamiento de estadios tempranos de las centollas Lithodes santolla y Paralomis granulosa (Decapoda: Lithodidae) en colectores artificiales pasivos en el Canal Beagle, Argentina

the l. santolla fishery in the argentinean sector of the beagle channel collapsed and has been closed since 1994. landings of p. granulosa in this sector are stable, but will not allow it to withstand heavy fishing pressure. in this study, we determined the recruitment depth of the early benthic stages of both lithodid species, and evaluated the effectiveness of passive artificial collectors as potential sources of refuge. in 2002, "sac" collectors were deployed in three depth strata: 10-20, 20-40, and 40-90 m. in 2003, "cajón" collectors were deployed in two depth strata: 10-20 and 20-40 m. the collectors were retrieved, respectively, in march 2003 and 2004, and the number and size of l. santolla and p. granulosa were recorded, along with the most abundant taxon in each collector. for both species, young-of-the-year individuals (i.e., < 5 mm carapace length) were found recruited in the collectors. recruitment of the first benthic stages of l. santolla and p. granulosa occurs only to 40 m depth. l. santolla appears to select environments dominated by polychaetes and, to a lesser degree, by brittle stars and sea-urchins. p. granulosa seems to recruit in environments in which clams, amphipods, brittle stars, and sea-urchins dominate. crab density in the collectors was comparable to that found for macrocystis pyrifera and for other decapod species in similar collectors