Mangroves are the dominant coastal vegetation in tropical estuaries and host a large diversity of brachyuran crabs. Crab larvae have adapted to dynamic hydrological conditions in estuaries using several physiological and behavioral strategies. Changes in crab larval assemblages can be monitored in time in order to detect ecological changes occurring within estuaries. For this study, we sampled quarterly crab larval assemblages in two sub-estuaries (Salado and Churute) of the Gulf of Guayaquil (GG) during 2016–2017. The largest community dissimilarities occurred between sub-estuaries, with Salado having higher morphological diversity and larval densities than Churute. Temporal patterns were only evident within each sub-estuary, and in relation to total and individual morpho-species density values. Ocypodidae larvae were dominant across samples; with zoea I of the red mangrove crab (Ucides occidentalis) showing maximal density values during spring tides. Hydrological parameters (i.e., turbidity, conductivity, salinity and temperature) contributed to only 19% of the variability in biota, demonstrating that crab larvae are physiologically adapted to a wide range of water conditions. This study established an ecological baseline for future studies using crab larval assemblages in the assessment of ecological changes occurring in mangrove tidal creeks of the GG. However, longer time-series monitoring data and description of new species and stages of crab larvae are necessary to better assess potential future changes.

红树林是热带河口的主要沿海植被，并且拥有种类繁多的腕章蟹。蟹类幼虫已经使用几种生理和行为策略适应了河口的动态水文条件。为了及时发现河口内的生态变化，可以及时监测蟹类幼体的变化。对于本研究，我们在2016-2017年期间在瓜亚基尔湾（GG）的两个子河口（Salado和Churute）中对季度蟹幼虫组合进行了采样。次生河口之间的群落差异最大，Salado的形态多样性和幼虫密度高于Churute。时间模式仅在每个子河口内以及与总和个别形态物种密度值有关时才明显。cy科的幼虫在所有样品中都占优势。在春季潮汐中显示最大密度值的Ocident occidentalis）。水文参数（例如，浊度，电导率，盐度和温度）仅贡献了19％的生物群落变异性，表明螃蟹幼虫在生理上适应各种水质条件。这项研究为以后的研究建立了生态基线，该研究使用螃蟹幼体组合评估GG红树林潮汐小溪中发生的生态变化。但是，需要更长的时间序列监测数据以及对蟹幼体新物种和阶段的描述，以便更好地评估未来的潜在变化。