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1.
Mating behavior strategies of brachyuran crabs are flexible depending on the habitat and social context. We evaluate pre-copulatory guarding in Neohelice granulata and describe the unusual copulatory behavior. Laboratory experiments were conducted to test whether factors such as male size, presence of burrows, a male-biased operational sex ratio (OSR) and female mating history affect the copulation duration in two different study areas. Females initiated a searching behavior approximately 20–26 h before they became receptive by assessing large male burrows and displaying a courtship behavior (“flirting”) in its entrance. Once the female entered inside the male burrow, pre-copulatory guarding was observed until the female became receptive and successful copulation occurred immediately after. This species shows some very unusual copulatory behavior involving eyestalk grasping not seen in any other varunid crab. The copulation duration was independent of male size and the presence of burrows, although it was dependent on the study area, the OSR and the female mating history. Thus, copulation duration is a flexible character in this species which varies with habitat and biological factors such as mating history and sex ratio.  相似文献   

2.
Sperm reserves are costly to produce and so the development of different sperm allocation strategies may be advantageous. Knowledge of sperm allocation strategies is important from an evolutionary perspective because they contribute to characterize mating systems. However, population differences in sperm allocation strategies of the same species have rarely been assessed. Here, we studied the male sperm allocation strategies in two different populations of Neohelice granulata in Mar Chiquita Lagoon (MCL) and San Antonio Oeste (SAO), Argentina. We found that the quantity of ejaculate transferred by N. granulata males depended on different factors such as male size and female receptivity duration, while it was independent of female size, at both study areas. Regarding the operational sex ratio factor, the amount of ejaculate transferred depended on it in MCL but not in SAO. Thus, Ngranulata males may have the capacity to regulate the quantity of ejaculate transferred based on individual factors such as their own size and female receptivity duration, and population factors such as operational sex ratio, which varies in the two populations studied.  相似文献   

3.
A novel mechanism of stream development in coastal wetlands was observed in the form of interaction between the burrowing crab (Chasmagnathus granulata) and groundwater seepage. This process may eventually be further promoted by the predatory action of the white croaker fish (Micropogon opercularis). These so-called crab streams occur on the banks of major tidal channels in a salt marsh of the Bahía Blanca Estuary (Argentina). As the tide recedes, water is retained in the crab burrows on the marsh surface. The presence of lateral burrows produced by crab recruits promotes subterranean piping flow driven by the hydraulic head in the vertical burrow. Groundwater generally seeps along the tidal channel banks but is particularly prominent and concentrated where crab burrows perforate the banks. Where predatory attacks by the croaker fish enlarge the burrow mouths, the drainage rills become wider and deeper because more seeping water is collected in the shallow crater from where it is funnelled into the developing streams. The crab stream is then produced by water draining from the crab burrow mouth, acting initially by cut-back erosion and followed by forward erosion of the relatively unconsolidated muddy sediments.  相似文献   

4.
Multiple paternity was assessed in Octopus minor using microsatellite DNA markers. Octopus minor adults were captured in traps and kept in indoor cement ponds. The females spawned after several days. Ten broods (B1–B10), each containing 15 embryos and the maternal octopus, were maintained until the embryos reached the stage at which DNA could be extracted and used for genotyping. Multiple paternity was tested using five microsatellite DNA markers and the results proved the hypothesis that multiple paternity occurs in O. minor (observed in six out of the 10 broods). Analysis with GERUD software gave the minimum number of fathers and showed that four broods were sired by a single male, three were sired by two different males and three were sired by three different males. In brood B10, the number of fathers identified by the single‐locus method was one fewer than that by the GERUD method. Of the six multiple paternity broods, four (66.7%) showed significant skew from equal paternal contributions, which indicated that sperm competition and/or cryptic female choice may be important for post‐copulatory paternity bias in this species.  相似文献   

5.
The deep‐sea bivalve Acesta oophaga lives attached to the anterior end of the vestimentiferan tubeworm, Lamellibrachia luymesi, at cold methane seeps. The bivalve is found almost exclusively on female tubeworms, where it consumes the lipid‐rich eggs of L. luymesi that are spawned year round (Biological Bulletin, 209, 2005, 87). It is apparent that A. oophaga benefits directly from this close association, but the consequences for the tubeworm host may be more complicated than just a simple predator–prey interaction. Since A. oophaga completely surrounds the tube opening and plume of the worm, it is likely that its presence would limit oxygen uptake by L. luymesi, thereby inhibiting worm growth and reproduction. We hypothesized that occupied tubeworms would compensate for this by growing larger plumes for oxygen uptake. To explore the effects of bivalve presence/absence on female tubeworms, several morphological features, including body size, plume length, tube diameter, and tube segment length, as well as instantaneous fecundity, were compared. Results suggest that the mere presence of A. oophaga has a significant impact on the morphology of its host worm, as all measures of worm size, except for tube segment length, were significantly greater with clams present. Additionally, instantaneous fecundity was 3.5 times higher in occupied worms, implying that tubeworms are not oxygen‐deprived or energy limited as a result of bivalve presence. Our findings suggest that the association between these two deep‐sea organisms may be a more complex form of symbiosis than the simple predator–prey relationship, as previously thought.  相似文献   

6.
Most behavioral studies on hermaphroditic fishes have focused on small‐sized species, which are tractable for research. Although many species of large hermaphroditic fishes are important fishery resources, their proximate mechanisms (visual, chemical and/or behavioral cues) in the social regulation of sex change have not been determined. Determination of these would inform resource management and aquaculture. In order to get closer to understanding the proximate mechanisms underlying the social regulation of female‐to‐male sex change in large hermaphroditic fishes, this study reports situations that induced female‐to‐male sex change in black‐spot tuskfish, Choerodon schoenleinii, a species of large protogynous fish, in massive laboratory tanks. The situations differed in the possibility of male‐to‐female tactile contact and in the group sex ratio, enabling us to infer plausible proximate mechanisms underlying sex change induction. Tactile contact between individuals is suspected to be closely related to the incidence of female‐to‐male sex change in C. schoenleinii. Visual and chemical cues alone may be insufficient to inhibit such sex changes. Male‐to‐female tactile contact may have an important influence on female‐to‐male sex change, i.e., inhibition of this sex change, in this species. The effect of sex ratio of a social group on the incidence of sex change may be due to the relative frequency and intensity of male tactile contact with each female, which may vary with the number of females. In the absence of a dominant male, tactile contact among females may affect the incidence of sex change, as well as determine which individuals change sex.  相似文献   

7.
Along the coastal areas of the Southwest Atlantic estuaries and embayments, phreatic water often circulates through very extended areas (up to several hundred meters perpendicular to the coast), dominated by dense assemblages of deep burrows of the crab Neohelice granulata (formerly Chasmagnathus granulatus). This crab inhabits the intertidal area, from mudflats to marshes vegetated by species of Spartina, Sarcocornia and Juncus, generating extensive burrowing beds where burrow density may reach up to 60 burrows m−2. Since the lower limit of the crab burrows is usually the water table, we investigated through field experiments the effect of N. granulata and their burrows on the chemical characteristics of this phreatic water. Water analysis from experimental (1) occupied burrows (with crabs), (2) unoccupied burrows (where crabs were excluded), and (3) sediment pore water show remarkable differences. Water oxygenation, and nitrate, ammonium and sulphate concentrations inside occupied burrows were higher than in the water inside unoccupied burrows or pore waters. Moreover, directed sampling of phreatic water entering and leaving the crab bed, shows that dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration is enhanced as the water crosses the crab bed. These results may be ascribed to the fact that in the salt marsh the crabs spend most of their time within burrows, where presumably they store food (plants) and defecate. These activities generate an area of accumulation of excrements and nutrients in different decomposition states. The present work shows a novel way by which bioturbating organisms can affect nutrients exportation from salt marshes to the open waters.  相似文献   

8.
Growth is determined by an organism's physiology, physical environment, and biological conditions, including food availability and any intra‐ and inter‐specific interactions that can affect feeding activity. To analyse how all these factors interact to produce final growth in the herbivorous/detritivorous crab Neohelice granulata, we performed field and laboratory experiments with juveniles and adults from three populations which differed genetically as well as in their physical environment and the organic matter (OM) content in the soil that serves as food. We evaluated (a) growth in the field: Juveniles of the three populations were cross‐transplanted in exclusion cages; (b) effect of the presence of adults on juvenile feeding: We measured the feeding activity of small juveniles in presence/absence of an adult male as potential predator in the field; and (c) effect of diet on cannibalism: We analysed the cannibalistic behavior of adult males from two of the populations in the laboratory after they had received protein‐rich (24%) and protein‐poor (3%) diets. In experiment (a), final size was similar for the crabs from all three origins but growth differed between sites. Experiment (b) showed that the presence of adults interfered with feeding activity at the two sites with lower weight indicators. In experiment (c), we observed that low protein diet increased the cannibalistic behavior of adult males, and this effect was more intense in crabs from the poorest food site. Our results contribute to understanding the set of factors and interactions involved in the response of individuals to the prevailing conditions in natural environments in order to maintain a growth rate, perhaps at the expense of different reserve accumulation. They also enable discussion of the limitations of approaches used in laboratory experiments.  相似文献   

9.
We analysed several life history traits of the marine isopod Idotea balthica basteri (Pallas, 1772) from the Bizerte lagoon, Southern Mediterranean Sea. Growth was continuous throughout the life of the animal with a high growth rate in the first life phase, and the growth curve was described according to von Bertalanffy's model. The lowest growth rate (0.23 mm) was recorded in winter (December, January and February) and the maximum rate (2.31 mm) between April and June. The total number of hatched eggs or embryos was positively correlated with the body length of ovigerous females. This population of I. balthica basteri was iteroparous, showing distinct strategies of reproduction. Large ovigerous females with high fecundity were collected during the whole sampling period, while breeding in smaller females with low fecundity was restricted to the period from late spring to early autumn, Manca size increased significantly with increasing female body size and there was also a significant trade‐off between manca size and the number of eggs per brood. Reproductive allocation, ranging between 17.1 ± 1.2% in winter and 23.2 ± 1.8% in summer, was positively correlated with female weight. Accordingly, parental investment in producing a juvenile varied between 1.02% per manca in winter to 3.38% in spring. Evaluated traits show that late summer and autumn cohorts have a K‐strategy, whereas cohorts born in winter and spring, and which exhibit a shorter life time, exhibit faster development, earlier reproduction and a smaller parental investment tending towards an r‐selected strategy.  相似文献   

10.
The combined effects of urbanization and extreme climatic events were examined on the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata, a well‐recognized ecological indicator in sandy beaches. The effect of storm waves was assessed before and after these climate events in beaches with different levels of urbanization in the coast of Brazil, Tropical Atlantic Ocean. The number of burrows was used as a metric for the population size of O. quadrata and the number of humans along the beaches as a proxy for the urbanization level. Significant differences were recorded in this species’ population density according to the human pressure. Our core modelling approach showed that the number of O. quadrata burrows was lower after storm waves in urbanized zones, compared to non‐urbanized ones. The interaction between storm waves and urbanization impacted the number of O. quadrata burrows negatively, and suggest that species’ populations are more vulnerable to the combined effects of extreme climatic events and urbanization. Extreme events are predicted to increase in frequency in the next few decades, and may modify or impair ecosystem functioning in sandy beaches by reducing populations of the O. quadrata, an important beach scavenger, which markedly contribute to the flux of energy in coastal trophic webs.  相似文献   

11.
Although female ornaments have been described in many taxa, the full spectrum of information conveyed by such traits together with the potential male fitness benefits are far from fully understood. Here, we used a sex‐role‐reversed species, the black‐striped pipefish, Syngnathus abaster, where females are the ornamented sex and intensively compete for mates who present an extreme form of paternal care (male pregnancy). We investigated what information is conveyed by female traits and if males are using it during mate choice. We further assessed which traits would reflect offspring quality at birth. We found that although body length generally portrays information on female reproductive potential (gonadosomatic index and oocyte diameter), it does so indirectly. Different aspects of the female traits, such as stripe width and trunk broadness, were found to be better direct indicators. When size is kept constant, males prefer females with wider stripes. Moreover, stripe coloration was found to reflect offspring quality as darker‐striped females produced larger newborns. Our observations suggest that in a species with exclusive paternal care, independently from the male's direct investment in reproduction, female contribution decisively impacts male fitness. Thus, at least in sex‐role‐reversed species such as the black striped pipefish, female ornaments can be selected in an analogous way to those of males in species with conventional sex roles (i.e. by mate choice).  相似文献   

12.
The fitness of parasitic organisms is strongly driven by their ability to infect potential hosts. Although transmission to a host organism is a key component to the parasitic lifestyle, surviving and reproducing within a host poses additional challenges. Cymothoa excisa is a parasitic isopod that infects Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, along the Texas coast and has evolved mechanisms to successfully survive and reproduce within its host. Cymothoa excisa is known to exhibit sex‐change strategies but limited information exists on morphological changes, reproductive output and the timing at which sex change becomes optimal. This study collected Atlantic croaker during a 22‐month survey period and identified parasite prevalence and intensity in the host fish population. Infection rates were constant throughout the year at 19.88% and intensity increased through the season up to a maximum of four parasites. Following collection, isopod morphological parameters were quantified for each life stage (including female, transitional, male and juvenile), identifying shape and size transitions through ontogeny and sex change. Transitional C. excisa isopods only occurred when only one isopod was present in a fish, suggesting that isopods change sex from male to female if they are the first to recruit to an uninfected host. As isopods transition to females they have a large increase in size, legs, and pleotelson (which influence fecundity and anchoring ability), whereas the gonopod, eyes and uropod show a reduction (which are no longer needed for swimming and finding hosts). Data suggest that C. excisa sex change is related to the timing of infection and brood size increases with female size and host size. Therefore, it would be advantageous to be the first isopod to infect a host, as it could change into a female and increase reproductive potential. We discuss hypotheses that could explain the mating behavior of parasitic isopods.  相似文献   

13.
Burrows of the thalassinidean shrimps Neaxius acanthus and Corallianassa coutierei are striking aspects in tropical seagrass beds of the Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia. Burrow construction, behaviour, burrow type and associated commensal community were investigated to clarify the ecological role and food requirements of these shrimps and their commensals. Gut content analysis and stable-isotope data were used to unravel the food sources and the trophic interactions among the commensal community.Individuals of Neaxius acanthus were caught on Bone Batang Island. In narrow aquaria filled with sediment they constructed burrows resembling those found in the field. During burrow construction and maintenance only little sediment was brought to the surface, most was sorted and compacted to create a distinct lining. Maintenance work by single shrimps typically took about 5 min, after which the shrimp walked up to the entrance and rested for a similar period of time. There were no differences in behaviour between day and night. Intrasexual encounters inside the burrow were characterised by a high level of aggression and all resulted in one participant being driven out of the burrow. Intersexual encounters led to coexistence with both animals taking turns in burrow maintenance and guarding the entrance. Offered seagrass leaves were pulled underground, cut into pieces and eventually integrated into the lining. Burrows of Corallianassa coutierei resembled a deep U-shape. Chambers branching off halfway down and at the deepest point contained seagrass fragments. All steep parts of the burrow were lined similar to burrows of N. acanthus.No commensals were found associated with Corallianassa coutierei. However, burrows of Neaxius acanthus in the field typically contained a pair of shrimps, up to 8 individuals of the commensal bivalve Barrimysia cumingii and large numbers of gammarid amphipods. Other animals found associated with the burrow were the goby Austrolethops wardi, a palaemonid shrimp species and two species of tube-building polychaetes, one of which was also found as an epibiont on N. acanthus.Stable-isotope and gut content analyses indicate that the diet of Neaxius acanthus, its commensal Austrolethops wardi, and Corallianassa coutierei is mainly derived from detrital seagrass leaves, with a potential contribution of sediment organic matter and seagrass epiphytes. In contrast the isotopic signature of Barrimysia cumingii suggests the presence of symbiotic sulphide metabolism bacteria. This study underlines that, besides their interactions with the surrounding ecosystem, thalassinid shrimp burrows play an important role as a sub-habitat with a unique associated fauna.  相似文献   

14.
The burrowing behaviour of Ovalipes catharus (White, 1843) is described and compared with that of some other burrowing crabs. O. catharus is a fast, back burrowing crab which makes temporary burrows in soft sand. The average time from initiation of burrowing to complete submergence was 6.5 s, there was no difference between males and females but burrowing time increased significantly with crab size. Similar morphological adaptations are required for burrowing and swimming: streamlined body shape, smooth lightly constructed exoskeleton, and flattened legs. O. catharus has a reversed respiratory current like O. guadulpensis but it differs in its burrowing behaviour. Compared to some other crabs, burrowing in O. catharus is rapid.  相似文献   

15.
The relationship between diet and feeding activity of intertidal crabs, and environmental cycles (tidal, daily and seasonal), habitat and level of the intertidal zone (high/low) was studied using Neohelice granulata (Brachyura, Varunidae) as a model. This is a semi‐terrestrial burrowing crab occupying different habitats in the Southwestern Atlantic coasts and estuaries from bare low intertidal mudflats to high intertidal salt marshes, and from fine, organic matter rich sediment to very coarse sediment with low content of organic matter. The study was carried out in two contrasting habitats of three sites with diverse sets of physical and biological conditions. Diet and feeding of adult N. granulata were indirectly studied through the proportion of food items and the presence/absence of food in crab stomachs, respectively. This species has a dual mode of feeding: predominantly herbivorous (live plants or plant litter in salt marshes) or deposit feeder (superficial sediment and detritus in mudflats), but the quantity and quality of ingested food varies among habitats and sites. A trend to omnivory (including algae and conspecifics) was detected in relation to low quality of resources. Feeding activity modulated by a complex interaction of factors varied according to spatial and/or temporal changes in some natural cycles. Males and non‐ovigerous females fed preferably after dark and during submersion periods, but also after emersion periods if mudflat sediment remained wet; salt marsh crab feeding is somewhat independent of light and tidal cycles. Ovigerous females almost never fed. Both diet and feeding activity of this crab seem to be flexible traits adapted to different combinations of physical and biological factors.  相似文献   

16.
The critical role of ecological preferences and opportunity in determining contaminant uptake and adaptive responses of sexes in the wild is still poorly understood. This ecological relationship was investigated by measuring metal bioaccumulation and antioxidant activity in male and female blue crab populations from open water habitat and the littoral/inter‐tidal zone of the Lagos Lagoon. A total of 741 samples of blue crab (littoral zone: 263 females, 137 males; open water zone, 230 females, 111 males) was collected monthly over 24 months (January 2010–January 2012) from each site and the measurements of morphometric features (wet weight, carapace length, carapace width) were recorded; condition index, metal (redox active: Cu, Zn, redox inactive: Pb, Cd) concentration in tissues (gills, hepatopancreas, gonads and muscle) and antioxidant activity (superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and malondialdehyde) were measured for each sex. Monthly sediment samples for both habitats were also analysed for metals using standard methods. Female crabs were significantly larger (p < .05) with a better condition index than the male crabs across sites and seasons, while higher oxidative damage was recorded in male crabs in the littoral zone compared to the open water zone. The results show that there was a negative association between antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation; a negative relationship between concentrations of redox‐inactive metals (Pb and Cd) and antioxidant activity in male crab tissues; and a positive relationship between uptake of a redox‐active metal (Cu) and antioxidant activity in female crab tissues. Although these trends suggest sex‐specific toxicity, they also associate redox‐inactive metals with the downregulation of antioxidant activity and oxidative stress. Furthermore, the higher condition index of females corroborates the possibility of sex‐specific toxicity, while the larger‐sized females compared to males suggests size‐sexual dimorphism in the blue crab populations. The site‐specific oxidative damage between sexes may be attributed to the different complexity of both habitats, which affords different ecological opportunities for the sexes.  相似文献   

17.
Tag‐recapture studies revealed differences in the growth rate of Haliotis iris between headlands and bays separated by as little as 200 m. Individuals off headlands had a significantly higher incremental growth and reached a higher maximum size than those in bays. These results were consistent with observations of the size composition of H. iris which showed that few individuals of harvestable size (> 125 mm shell length) were found in bays. Differences in the growth rate of H. iris may account for the apparent differences in the size at onset of maturity: individuals off headlands, and from a fast‐growing population off Wellington, reached reproductive maturity at a smaller size compared with those in bays. Yield‐per‐recruit modelling showed greater yields from headlands than bays, but egg‐per‐recruit modelling revealed more egg production was conserved in bays than off headlands. Yields could be increased from bays by decreasing the minimum size to 110 mm. Egg‐ and yield‐per‐recruit models were sensitive to the natural mortality rate (M = 0.03, 0.05 and 0.10 compared). The results show that parameters important in the management of commercial fisheries for abalone can vary over small distances: such variation should be incorporated in management strategies for abalone fisheries.  相似文献   

18.
The reproductive ecology of the mudskipper Boleophthalmus pectinirostris was investigated during the spawning season in the Funing Bay, Fujian, China. The fish burrows were basically Y-shaped and had two openings onto the mudflats. Part of the intersection at the center of the burrow was dilated to form a "spawning chamber". The dissolved oxygen concentrations (0.40~0.65 mg/dm3)of water 15 cm deep inside the burrows were much lower than those (5.96~6.19 mg/dm3) of intertidal pool water. Water temperatures inside the burrows were much lower than those of intertidal pools. Field investigations indicated that eggs were laid on the inner wall and ceiling of the spawning chamber by means of filamentous attachments, and a male stayed inside the burrows to guard it. Field investigations also suggested that fish of both sexes constructed mud burrows by themselves but that the spawning chamber was made only in the male burrow. The male attracted a female to his burrow for mating and spawning. There was no water in the spawning chamber, and thus the eggs were exposed to the air in the chamber. Changes in spawning readiness and gonadosomatic index indicated that synchronization of spawning was related to the semi-lunar periodicity, and this is the first report of this relationship in the mudskippers.  相似文献   

19.
Growth of the sand flounder, Rhombosolea plebeia (Richardson), and the yellow‐belly flounder, Rhombosolea leporina Günther, in the Hauraki Gulf is described. In both species females grow more quickly than males. At 2 years of age male and female sand flounders reach mean total lengths of 17 cm and 23 cm respectively, and male and female yellow‐belly flounders reach mean total lengths of 24 cm and 29 cm respectively.  相似文献   

20.
A draconematid nematode species,Dracograllus filipjevi Allen and Noffsinger, 1978, is described from the washings of shallow littoral coralline algae at Guryongpo in the eastern coast of Korea. This species is recognized by the following characteristics: larger body size, number of posterior sublateral adhesion tubes (9 in male and 12-13 in female) and subventral adhesion tubes (8-9 in male and 9-10 in female), the absence of cephalic acanthiform setae on rostrum, the presence of longitudinally areolated body cuticle with dot-like punctations, the presence of some cuticular collar in swollen pharyngeal region, the shape of amphidial fovea (large, elongate, and loop-shaped in both sexes), the absence of preanal corniform setae, and the absence of lateral differentiation on narrow body region. Morphological features of the species using differential interference contrast photomicrographs are described in detail in the present work. This is the first report ofD. filipjevi in Korea.  相似文献   

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