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1.
There is little information on the movement and connectivity patterns for many species. The movement by shells occupied by the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus and the organisms encrusting these shells was investigated on the south coast of Wales (UK). Hermit crabs shells moved considerable distances along the shore over 1 month periods, moving a minimum mean distance (±SE) of 148 (±8) and 174 (±9) m from release sites in the January and August respectively. Hermit crab-inhabited shells were also found to travel across habitats (sandy areas) that are unsuitable for both hermit crabs and epibionts. Through the examination of 150 of the most abundant shells used by P. bernhardus (Nucella lapillus), twelve epibiont species were found (10 animal and 2 algal species) and choice experiments demonstrated that hermit crabs preferred epibiont covered shells (84%), compared with bare shells (16%). The distance that shells were moved and the preference of hermit crabs for epibiont encrusted shells, coupled with the ability for epibionts to cross unsuitable habitats, may provide a dispersal advantage for epibiont species.  相似文献   

2.
Crabs are important predators of inter‐tidal ecosystems, controlling the abundance and distribution of their prey populations. Often the same crab species occupies several habitats and, although their effects on prey have been quantified across habitats, crabs’ dietary and morphological responses to differing environmental influences have been overlooked. Here, we used the crabs Eriphia verrucosa and Pachygrapsus marmoratus as model species to examine differences in claw morphometry – size and wear – and diet between rocky shore and heterogeneous sand flat habitats. We predicted that, intra‐specifically, crabs from rocky shores would consume more hard‐shelled prey owing to their high availability and consequently, would display chelipeds with the following claw characteristics: a higher degree of claw damage, stronger musculature (higher propel height) and increased mechanical advantage (defined as the ratio of input lever length to output lever length) than crabs in the heterogeneous sand flat habitats. Sampling was performed in heterogeneous sand flat habitats and rocky shores of the Central Portuguese coast. For each crab species, carapace width, diet composition and several claw morphometric measures were recorded, revealing significant intra‐specific differences (using multivariate analysis) between shore types. We found that E. verrucosa and P. marmoratus consumed more hard prey on rocky shore than on sand flat habitats, which resulted in rocky shore crabs having more accentuated dentition wear and larger musculature than their sand flat habitat counterparts. We suggest that the strong response of crab claw morphometry to environmentally induced diet variations is an important mechanism in the successful adaptation of crab species to inhabit differing habitats. A major implication is that the impact of the same species on prey may vary largely with habitat type as a result of predation efficiency varying with claw condition.  相似文献   

3.
Tidal conditions differently influence inter‐tidal organisms in terms of general physiological and metabolic responses. In this study we investigated the morphological response in shells of Mytilus galloprovincialis native to different micro‐tidal coastal environments in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Our purpose was to highlight the ecophenotypic variability across tidal levels and to elucidate how tidal currents and waves produced by anthropogenic activities may play a part in modulating shell morphology. Three sampling sites were selected: an open‐sea area 15 km off‐shore and two sites within the lagoon of Venice, the first near one of its three inlets, and the other one in the proximity of Venice city centre. At each sampling site, organisms were seasonally collected at different depths within their vertical zonation, either in the inter‐tidal zone – i.e. at both the highest and lowest tide zonation limits, and subtidally. The mussel shells were analysed by investigation of their morphometric relationships (height/length and width/length ratios) and by elliptic Fourier analysis of the shell contours. Shell thickness and condition index were also evaluated for a better comprehension of energy allocation/partitioning. Estimates based on long‐term measurements, visual observation, wind statistics and wave growth laws allowed an evaluation of the forces acting on shells. At the open‐sea site, the observed phenotypic variability of both shell shape and thickness was clearly related to the tidal vertical zonation. At the two lagoon sites, the currents generated by tidal flow through the inlet and the waves caused by the frequent passage of boats influenced both shell shape and thickness. A trade‐off between protection and growth was apparent along the tide gradient, as emphasized by the differences in the partitioning and allocation of energy between shell and flesh production.  相似文献   

4.
The sea anemones Calliactis conchicola Parry, 1952 and Paracalliactis rosea Hand, 1975, which live associated with gastropods, hermit crabs, and true crabs, possess mounting responses similar to those known for several species of Calliactis. In some areas of New Zealand Calliactis conchicola occurs most abundantly on living gastropods and in others on gastropod shells occupied by hermit crabs. No behaviour by either the gastropod or the hermit crabs was observed which explains this differential distribution. One hermit crab stimulates Paracalliactis rosea to mount its shell by a regular tapping of the anemone with its chelae or dactyls, but ignores Calliactis conchicola. Several other hermit crabs, which may be found carrying these anemones, do not stimulate them to mount. The spider crab Leptomithrax longipes may be found in nature carrying specimens of four kinds of anemones: Calliactis conchicola, Paracalliactis rosea, Bunodactis chrysobathys, and Phellia aucklandica. This crab prises these anemones from most substrates with its chelae, cleans them with its mouth parts, and places them on its legs and carapace with its chelae. From observation, Calliactis conchicola apparently protects this crab from octopus predatiori, but not from other predators such as small sharks. Though associations of anemones with hermit crabs and other invertebrates are usually considered to be commensal, it seems likely that these associations may be mutualistic.  相似文献   

5.
Abstract. Over 120 species, including epizoites, endolithic organisms, and an epiflora are associated with the gastropod shells inhabited by the hermit crabs Paguristes oculatus and Pagurus cuanensis in the North Adriatic Sea (Gulf of Trieste). The symbiotic organisms include members of three trophic levels - primary producers (rhodophytes), primary consumers (active and passive filter feeders), and secondary consumers (carnivorous species). Many of the invertebrates show a preferred distribution on the shells. The shells are a mobile substratum for a specific community. They are a sediment- and predator-free surface, and for their size are extremely stable substrates in terms of both time and orientation.
The hermit crab microbiocoenosis is a dynamic phenomenon that can be studied as a functional unit. The symbionts are responsible for two simultaneous processes - a constructive and a destructive process on the shells. Shell deterioration is due primarily to biological processes, not to mechanical destruction. The more frequently occurring species were classified according to their role in reinforcing or weakening shell structure. These developments are related to hermit crab activity. Epizoites grow through several shell changes by hermit crabs, and a number of forms are capable of surviving the final deposition of the shells.  相似文献   

6.
Size‐frequency distributions can support reliable inferences concerning population dynamics of brachiopods, but only a few data are available so far. In this study, length and width frequency distributions of dead specimens of the Recent brachiopods Joania cordata and Argyrotheca cuneata from the Marine Protected Area ‘Secche di Tor Paterno’, Central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy (41°35′ N, 12°20′ E), are reported in order to add new data about size‐frequency distributions of brachiopods. The studied specimens came from death assemblages in the coralligenous substrate, in the Posidonia oceanica meadows, and in the sand channels. The observed patterns vary from left‐skewed (J. cordata) to right‐skewed (A. cuneata), indicating respectively a low and high mortality of smaller individuals. Significant differences between the coralligenous substrate and the P. oceanica meadow were observed for both species, revealing a variation among different habitats. All length and width distributions are clearly polymodal, but the biological meaning of the peaks is difficult to interpret, as the two species seem to have a 2‐year life span. A biometric analysis of shell sizes revealed that length and width are the most variable parameters during the growth of the animal.  相似文献   

7.
Abstract. Hermit crab shells are often encrusted with diverse communities of epibionts. To explore the effects of hermit crabs on the interactions of these encrusting species, two species of hydractiniid hydroids, Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus and Podocoryna carnea , were examined in the presence and absence of Pagurus longicarpus hermit crabs. Colonies growing on Littorina littorea snail shells with hermit crab hosts were compared to those growing on shells without crabs. These experiments suggest that hermit crabs variably affect colony polyp number, colony morphology and the outcome of interspecific competition, according to the size and number of crabs; other factors include water temperature, food availability and hydroid clonal genotype. In order to allow image analysis of perturbations of colony morphology, hydroids were grown on glass surfaces both exposed and unexposed to hermit crabs. Relative to colonies growing on unexposed surfaces, colonies growing on exposed surfaces exhibited larger within-colony patches, thus decreasing the total encrusted surface area and polyp number of colonies. Further, on glass surfaces, hermit crabs accelerated the time to the resolution of interspecific competition ( i.e. , the overgrowth of one colony by the other). While a number of factors may contribute to the relative abundance of these encrusting species, under most circumstances P. longicarpus have large effects on hydractiniid hydroids. Mechanisms underlying these effects likely include hydrodynamics and mechanical disturbance.  相似文献   

8.
Predator‐prey interactions can shape biological communities and drive evolutionary change. The assessment of predation rates in modern and ancient ecosystems presents many challenges. We examined the utility of one common predation metric, shell repair frequency, as a proxy for crushing predation on marine gastropod populations. Our six localities near Bamfield, British Columbia, represented two contrasting predation regimes: three high‐wave‐energy (exposed) environments have low predation rates, while three low‐wave‐energy (protected) environments exhibit high predation rates. We measured the occurrence of repair scars for local populations of the gastropod Chlorostoma funebrale, and recorded multiple independent variables (shell measurements, water velocity, predatory crab abundance) at each locality. Fisher's exact test established that the repair frequencies observed in the protected localities were significantly greater than those of the exposed environments. Factors important in predicting the likelihood of an individual having a repair scar were examined using binomial logistic regression. A model containing the main effects of crab abundance, shell height, shell thickness and water velocity provided the best fit in predicting the presence of repair scars, with crab abundance having the largest contribution. The strong relationship between the presence of repair scars and predator abundance indicates that repair frequency is a valid tool for assessing predation intensity in gastropod populations.  相似文献   

9.
Abstract. During 1986 and 1987 a decapod crustacean taxocoenosis of Posidonia oceanica beds from the southeast of Spain has been studied.
Data on abundance-dominance of the 50 species found and other information such as reproduction and the selective use of gastropod shells by the dominant hermit crabs arc given.
Differences in richness and cquitability between shallow (3–4 m) and deeper (5–7 m) samples arc also shown.
The taxocoenosis presents a geometrical distribution in which only 9 species have a relative abundance higher than 1 % and in which the structure is basically controlled by the two dominant hermit crabs, Cestopagitius limidus and Calcium tubularis , and hydrodynamic conditions.  相似文献   

10.
Although grazing is considered an essential process controlling epiphyte biomass on seagrass leaves, there is still a lack of fundamental knowledge about the species‐specific consumption rates of the most common grazers in Mediterranean meadows. This study experimentally assessed the effect of Posidonia oceanica‐associated gastropod grazing on early successional biofilm and the species‐specific relationship between biofilm consumption rates and biofilm biomass. Two biofilms on artificial substrata, both developed in situ (in a P. oceanica meadow), one under ambient conditions and the other under nutrient‐enriched conditions, were offered in aquaria assays to nine species of grazers found in P. oceanica meadows. Biofilm consumption rates and their association with biofilm biomass were assessed. It was found that: (i) there was a positive association between biofilm consumption and biofilm biomass up to 20 mg Chl a·m?2 for Bittium reticulatum, Gibbula ardens, Jujubinus exasperatus and Tricolia pullus; (ii) Alvania montagui, B. reticulatum and Jujubinus striatus showed the highest consumption rates and are thus expected to be amongst the leading consumers in early‐successional epiphytic communities; (iii) there was not an increase of consumption rate when a substratum colonized under nutrient‐enriched conditions was offered to any of the nine studied species. This study provides species‐specific consumption rates knowledge that is useful for the assessment of the strength of grazer–epiphyte interactions and trophic fluxes in P. oceanica meadows.  相似文献   

11.
Growth rates of three species of abalone in New Zealand were estimated by fitting data to the von Bertalanffy growth equation. Length‐frequency analysis and tagging were used for Haliotis iris Martyn, and shell growth‐checks were used for H. australis Gmelin and H. virginea Gmelin. The relative growth coefficient (K) and the asymptotic length (L8) were found to be 0.3104 and 146.2 mm respectively for H. iris, 0.3205 and 86.75 mm for H. australis, 0.4460 and 61.5 mm, and 0.3231 and 64.4 mm for H. virginea from two separate localities. An absolute growth curve could be calculated only for Haliotis iris.  相似文献   

12.
Ecosystems are fundamentally connected to one another, although empirical documentation of the links between them, especially the links between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, has been limited. This study examined the foraging behavior and ecology of an understudied invertebrate, the hermit crab Coenobita compressus, which is remarkably abundant at the nexus of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems. Data collected between 2008 and 2011 in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica revealed that C. compressus plays a generalist scavenger role across ecosystems. Beach almond fruits (Terminalia catappa) were a staple of the crabs’ diet, but the crabs also commonly consumed a variety of other fruit species and various parts of plants (nuts, seeds, flowers, husk, stems, buds) as well as algae, fungus, animal feces, and the carcasses of insects, jellyfish, conspecifics, other crustacean species, freshwater and saltwater fish, sea turtles (eggs and adults), and mammals. The crabs fed on these resources in prominent social aggregations, also forming such aggregations as they exchanged the aquatically derived gastropod shells that they use as homes while roaming the land. The size of the crabs’ aggregations around plant versus animal resources and around terrestrial versus aquatic resources did not differ, underscoring the species’ generalist foraging behavior. Broadly, these results suggest that C. compressus has one of the most diverse diets of any crustacean and plays a critical role in recycling organic matter and nutrients. This species might also mediate the passage of resources across different ecosystems, although further research is needed to explore this possibility.  相似文献   

13.
Odours of different sources can indicate to hermit crabs the availability of empty shells, crucial resources for the life cycle of almost all of them. Here, we compared Clibanarius erythropus and Pagurus bernhardus for the intensity of investigative behaviour exhibited towards an empty, well-fitting shell in the presence of (1) plain seawater as control and seawater conditioned by (2) dead and live snails, (3) dead and live conspecifics, (4) live predators, and (5) food. During 10 min of observation, we recorded latency (the time until the first contact with the shell), and the number and duration of shell investigation bouts. The two species behaved similarly when exposed to the odours of food, live snails, and predators, while a more intense shell investigation was induced by dead snail odour in C. erythropus and by dead or live conspecific odour in P. bernhardus. Further studies should investigate the influence of phylogeny and ecology on this interspecific difference.  相似文献   

14.
Genetic diversity is the basis for adaptation and therefore of primary scientific interest, especially in species that are threatened by anthropogenic challenges, e.g. climate change and/or pollution. Coral reefs are among the most threatened but also the most diverse ecosystems and have therefore been studied quite extensively. So far, most investigations have focused on scleractinian corals while the equally important reef builders, the hydrozoans, have been less considered. Here we provide the first study of genotypic variability as well as intra‐colonial genetic variability, the co‐occurrence of more than one genotype within a single colony, in Milleporidae based on microsatellites. We analysed two geographically distinct populations from the Millepora dichotoma complex, one from the Red Sea and one from the Great Barrier Reef. Additionally, a population of Millepora platyphylla was analysed from French Polynesia. We compared microsatellite multilocus genotypes and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I haplotypes for each of the three field sites to detect levels of genotypic diversity at the intra‐ and inter‐specific levels. Furthermore, we examined all species for the occurrence of intra‐colonial genetic variability, a recently described mechanism in scleractinian corals that might enhance the adaptive potential of sessile organisms. We found both species and all field sites to be genotypically variable. Twelve mitochondrial haplotypes and 27 multilocus microsatellite genotypes were identified. In addition, intra‐colonial genetic variability was detected in the M. dichotoma complex from the Great Barrier Reef as well as in M. platyphylla from French Polynesia. All of the intra‐colonial genetically variable colonies consisted of one main genotype and a second divergent genotype caused by somatic mutations (mosaicism). Our study proves that Milleporidae are genetically variable and that the phenomenon of intra‐colonial genetic variability also occurs in this important reef‐building family.  相似文献   

15.
Hermit crabs of the family Coenobitidae comprise the land hermit crabs, with 16 Coenobita species, and the coconut crab Birgus latro. They are terrestrial but spend their marine life as planktonic larvae. Some coenobitid crabs are widely distributed in the Indo‐West Pacific region, and some species occupy narrower ranges. To improve our knowledge of coenobitid crab speciation and geographical distribution patterns, we examined the phylogenetic relationship between Coenobita purpureus, which has a narrow distribution in the Northwestern Pacific, and its more widely distributed coenobitids including B. latro, Coenobita brevimanus, Coenobita cavipes, Coenobita perlatus, Coenobita rugosus and Coenobita violascens based on the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S rDNA genes. We also assessed the phylogeography of Co. purpureus populations based on the COI gene. Our phylogenetic and phylogeographical analyses revealed that (i) Co. purpureus clustered with Co. rugosus and (ii) the Co. purpureus population in the Ogasawara Islands was genetically distinct from those in other regions, which showed genetic panmixia. It has been hypothesized that Co. purpureus evolved in the isolated landmasses of the Ryukyu region during the Pliocene, and that its population expanded and colonized the Ogasawara Islands in the late Pleistocene. Further phylogeographical studies on Coenobita species with relatively narrow distributions coupled with characterization of their phylogenetic relationships with widely distributed congeners will advance our knowledge of the speciation and geographical distribution history of coenobitid crabs.  相似文献   

16.
Pagurus hermit crabs have a well‐developed right cheliped (major cheliped) and in some species the major cheliped of males is longer than that of females. This paper describes sex‐related differences in major cheliped length and regeneration pattern of the major cheliped in the hermit crab Pagurus filholi. We also examined the function of the major cheliped in male–male competition. Major cheliped length of males was longer than that of females in P. filholi. Males regenerated larger chelipeds than females at the first molt after experimentally induced autotomy. Body size growth in males of the regeneration group was less than that in intact males of the control group while there was no significant difference in body size growth of females between regeneration and control groups. Major cheliped length was included in the best model to explain the outcome of male–male competition and thus sexual selection appears to be a causative factor in the sex‐related difference of the major cheliped length. Sex‐related differences in the regeneration pattern may reflect differences in evolutionary pressures on males for large major chelipeds and females for large body size.  相似文献   

17.
不同养殖海域栉孔扇贝(Chlamys farreri)混合家系的通径分析   总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3  
为了深入认识栉孔扇贝(Chlamys farreri)壳尺寸性状和体重之间的关系,达到通过直观可见形状判断非直观性状,在栉孔扇贝苗种培育中指导种贝挑选工作的目的,本实验将600余只扇贝分别于三个不同纬度养殖环境(山东青岛、山东荣成和辽宁大连)下养殖一年后测量其性状数据,包括壳长、壳高、壳宽、体重,进行壳尺寸性状对体重性状的通径分析。偏回归系数统计表明,除大连海域壳长对体重的偏回归系数为0.266,差异不显著(P0.05)外,其它参数对体重均极显著(P0.01),表明大多数自变量和因变量之间都有极显著的共线性关系。对各个海域建立以壳尺寸为自变量,体重为因变量的回归方程,得出通径系数、各性状间的相关性指数以及各参数对体重的决定系数,计算出了不同养殖地点的栉孔扇贝壳尺寸性状和体重之间关系的回归方程。通径分析显示,对青岛海域栉孔扇贝体重直接作用最大的是壳高,对荣成海域栉孔扇贝体重直接作用最大的是壳长,而对大连海域栉孔扇贝体重直接作用最大的是壳宽。因此,以体重为目标挑选青岛海域的种贝时,应以壳高为优先选择指标;挑选荣成海域的种贝时,优先选择壳长;挑选大连海域的种贝时,优先选择壳宽。不同养殖海域栉孔扇贝的通径分析为栉孔扇贝亲贝的挑选提供了理论支持。  相似文献   

18.
The present study reports on population structure analysis of the marbled crabPachygrapsus marmoratus (Fabricius, 1787) from the Tunisian coast, an appropriate location to study biogeographical process...  相似文献   

19.
Precise biodiversity mapping that can be compared over decades would greatly inform the discussion of climate change impacts on species richness and shifts in dominant benthic species. Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, USA, has a long history of field studies documenting benthic community structure. This bioassessment compares 1955 benthic infaunal sampling results with 2011/2012 samples to determine whether there has been a compositional change. I also compared structural components including grain size and near‐bottom temperatures. In addition, benthic temperature rise and fall was logged at 15‐min intervals from May to October of consecutive years. There was an observed difference in the benthic compositional structure, substrate and temperature between the 1955 and 2011/2012 station conditions. The 1955 identification of Buzzards Bay as being nutrient poor and having a reported 20.5 °C benthic temperature maximum has changed. Coastal development has brought increased nutrient inputs, and the 2012 bottom temperature maximum was at least 4 °C greater. These conditions contribute to shifts in benthic species dominance, and the substrate itself has been transformed to shell reefs at the stations where the gastropod Crepidula fornicata proliferated.  相似文献   

20.
The climate‐envelope approach to predicting climate‐induced species range shift is limited. There are many possible reasons for this, but one novel explanation is that species adapt to changes in temperature at the expense of adaptation to other stressors. Here we test this hypothesis using the limpet Patella depressa (Mollusca, Patellidae), over a large geographical area covering most of the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, known to consist of a genetically inter‐connected population. We examine limpet shell morphology on four shores in each of three regions, from Northern Spain to Southern Portugal. Within each region, shell morphology (measured as maximum shell profile to length ratio) varied between shore types differing in their insolation, wave action, microhabitat availability and biological factors. However, this ratio, which is known to be an adaptive response to heat stress, was found to be consistently higher in more southern latitudes despite differences between shore types being found in all regions. This implies that localized adaptation to shore type (most likely through phenotypic plasticity) is compromised by factors that change over latitudinal or regional scales, or which could occur in response to climate change. Although such climate‐induced changes may initially be localized, compromised adaptation (through phenotypic or genetic plasticity) may result in altered community interactions and potentially large shifts in community structure.  相似文献   

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