Refine your search
Collections
Co-Authors
Journals
Year
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z All
Oommen, Mathew M.
- Tree Climbing and Temporal Niche Shifting: An Anti-Predatory Strategy in the Mangrove Crab Parasesarma plicatum (Latreille, 1803)
Abstract Views :277 |
PDF Views:77
Authors
Affiliations
1 Division of Conservation Biology, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 562, IN
2 University of Kerala, Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram 695 581, IN
1 Division of Conservation Biology, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 562, IN
2 University of Kerala, Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram 695 581, IN
Source
Current Science, Vol 111, No 7 (2016), Pagination: 1201-1207Abstract
Parasesarma plicatum, a common sesarmid crab in mangrove habitats of India, always climbs onto the mangrove vegetation during high tide. We studied whether this temporal niche shifting of the crab is an anti-predatory strategy against potential predators that invade their habitat during high tide. We studied the difference in density of this crab on the forest floor and vegetation during low and high tides in three selected study sites. Ex situ experiments were also conducted using the crab and a predatory fish simulating the habitat. The study confirmed that all the crabs climbed onto the vegetation from the forest floor during high tide and came down to the forest floor during low tide. Regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between water level and the height climbed by crabs on vegetation. Crabs completely migrated from sites which were fully submerged during high tide to nearby areas where mangrove trees and the shrub Acanthus ilicifolius provided them ample refuge above water level. Ex situ experiments showed that though P. plicatum could remain under water and feed in starved conditions, they climbed onto the vegetation above water level so as to seek refuge in the presence of predatory fish, Lutjanus argentimaculatus. Therefore, it is inferred that the tree-climbing character exhibited by P. plicatum is a strategy to escape from predators that invade their habitats during high tide inundation and flooding.Keywords
Anti-Predatory Strategy, Mangrove, Parasesarma plicatum, Temporal Niche Shifting, Tree Climbing.Full Text
References
- Harvey, P. H. and Greenwood, P. J., Anti-predator defense strategies: some evolutionary considerations. In Behavioral Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach (eds Krebs, J. R. and Davies, N. B.), Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts, 1978, pp. 129– 151.
- Lima, S. L. and Dill, L. M., Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: a review and prospectus. Can. J. Zool., 1990, 68, 619–640.
- Reznick, D. N., Bryga, H. and Endler, J. A., Experimentally induced life-history evolution in a natural population. Nature, 1990, 346, 357–359.
- Roff, D. A., The Evolution of Life Histories: Theory and Analysis, Chapman and Hall, New York, 1992, p. 548.
- Stearns, S. C., The Evolution of Life Histories, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1992, p. 262.
- Lima, S. L., Valone, T. J. and Caracao, T., Foraging efficiency– predation risk trade-off in the grey squirrel. Anim. Behav., 1985, 33, 155–165.
- Werner, E. E., Amphibian metamorphosis, growth rate, predation risk and the optimal size at transformation. Am. Nat., 1986, 128, 319–341.
- Arendt, J. D., Adaptive intrinsic growth rates: integration across taxa. Q. Rev. Biol., 1997, 72, 149–177.
- Rahayu, D. L. and Ng, P. K. L., Revision of Parasesarma plicatum (Latreille, 1803) species group (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae). Zootaxa, 2010, 2327, 1–22.
- Alcock, A. W., Materials for a carcinological fauna of India. No. 6. The Brachyura Catometopa or Grapsoidea. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1900, 69(3), 279–456.
- Dev Roy, M. K. and Nandi, N. C., Brachyuran biodiversity of some selected brackishwater lakes of India. In Proceedings of Taal 2007: The 12th World Lake Conference (eds Sengupta, M. and Dalwani, R.), 2008, pp. 496–499.
- Shukla, M. L., Patel, B. K., Trivedi, J. N. and Vachhrajani, K. D., Brachyuran crab diversity of Mahi and Dhadhar Estuaries, Gujarat, India. Res. J. Mar. Sci., 2013, 1(2), 8–11.
- Varadharajan, D. and Soundarapandian, P., Crab biodiversity from Arukkattuthurai to Pasipattinam, south east coast of India. Indian J. Geomar. Sci., 2014, 43(4), 676–698.
- Shanij, K., Praveen, V. P., Oommen, M. M. and Nayar, T. S., Leaf litter translocation and consumption in mangrove ecosystems: the key role played by the sesarmid crab Neosarmatium malabaricum. Curr. Sci., 2016, 110(10), 1969–1976.
- Nayar, T. S., Plant crab interaction in mangrove ecosystem with a case study from Kerala. In Towards Conservation and Management of Mangrove Ecosystems in India (eds Bhatt, J. R. et al.), International Union for Conservation of Nature, India, 2011, pp. 73–88.
- Praveen, V. P., The role of brachyuran crabs in structure, composition and recruitment of mangrove forests in Kerala. Ph D thesis, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 2014, p. 200.
- Fratini, S., Vannini, M., Cannicci, S. and Schubart, C. D., Treeclimbing mangrove crabs: a case of convergent evolution. Evol. Ecol. Res., 2005, 7, 219–233.
- Hazlett, B. A. and McLay, C. L., Responses to predation risk: alternative strategies in the crab Heterozius rotundifrons. Anim. Behav., 2005, 69, 967–972.
- Stachowicz, J. J. and Hay, M. E., Reducing predation through chemically mediated camouflage: indirect effects of plant defenses on herbivores. Ecology, 1999, 80, 495–509.
- Thanh, P. D., Wada, K., Sato, M. and Shirayama, Y., Decorating behaviour by the majid crab Tiarinia cornigera as protection against predators. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK, 2003, 83, 1235–1237.
- Hultgren, K. M. and Stachowicz, J. J., Alternative camouflage strategies mediate predation risk among closely related co-occurring kelp crabs. Oecologia, 2008, 155, 519–528.
- Juanes, F. and Smith L. D., The ecological consequences of limb damage and loss in decapod crustaceans: a review and prospectus. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 1995, 193, 197–223.
- McVean, A., Autotomy. In The Biology of Crustacea, Vol. 4 (ed. Bliss, D. E.), Academic Press, New York, 1982, pp. 107–132.
- Ansell, A. D., Migration or shelter? Behavioural options for deposit feeding crabs on tropical sandy shores, In Behavioral Adaptation to Intertidal Life (eds Chelazzi, G. and Vannini, M.), Plenum Press, New York, 1988, pp. 15–26.
- Bovbjerg, R. V., Behavioral ecology of the crab. Pachygrapsus crassipes. Ecology, 1960, 41, 668–672.
- Warner, G. F., The life history of the mangrove tree crab Aratus pisonii. J. Zool., 1967, 153(3), 321–335.
- Von Hagen, H. O., The tree climbing crabs of Trinidad. Stud. Fauna Curacao., 1977, 54, 25–29.
- Green, J. L., Biology of Aratus elegans. M Sc thesis. University of North Wales, Bangor, 1986.
- Vannini, M. and Ruwa, R. K., Vertical migration in the tree crab Sesarma leptosoma (Decapoda, Grapsidae). Mar. Biol., 1994, 118(2), 271–278.
- Cannicci, S., Fratini, S. and Vannini, M., Use of time, space and food resources in the mangrove climbing crab Selatium elongatum (Grapsidae: Sesarminae). Mar. Biol., 1999, 135(2), 335–339.
- Vannini, M., Oluoch, A. and Ruwa, R. K., Tree climbing decapods of Kenyan mangroves. In Mangrove Ecosystem Studies in Latin America and Africa (eds Kjerfve, B. et al.), UNESCO Technical Papers in Marine Science, Paris, 1997, pp. 125–138.
- Cox, G. J., A note on tree climbing by the crab Helice crassa in mangrove swamps. Tane, 1976, 22, 155–156.
- Masagca, J. T., Feeding ecology of tree climbing mangrove sesarmid crabs from Luzon, Philippines. Biotropica, 2009, 16(1), 1–10.
- Cannicci, S., Ruwa, R. K., Ritossa, S. and Vannini, M., Branchfidelity in the tree crab Sesarma leptosoma (Decapoda, Grapsidae). J. Zool., 1996, 238, 795–801.
- Vannini, M., Ruwa, R. K. and Cannicci, S., Effect of microclimatic factors and tide on vertical migrations of the mangrove crab Sesarma leptosoma (Decapoda, Grapsidae). Mar. Biol., 1997, 130, 101–108.
- Sivasothi, N., Niche preferences of tree-climbing crabs in Singapore mangroves. Crustaceana, 2000, 73, 25–38.
- Tree climbing crabs on the shores of Singapore, 2016; http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/sesarmidae/ episesarma.htm (accessed on 28 May 2016).
- Vannini, M., Cannicci, S. and Ruwa, R. K., Effect of light intensity on vertical migrations of the tree crab Sesarma leptosoma Hilgendorf (Decapoda, Grapsidae). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 1995, 185(2), 181–189.
- Cannicci, S., Morino, L. and Vannini, M., Behavioural evidence for visual recognition of predators by the mangrove climbing crab Sesarma leptosoma. Anim. Behav., 2002, 63, 77–83.
- Niem, V. H., Phylogenetic relationships among American species of Sesarma (subgenus Armases) (Brachyura, Grapsidae). Crustaceana, 1996, 69(3), 330–348.
- Verwey, J., Einiges uber die Biologie ost-indischer Mangrovekrabben. Treubia, 1930, I2, 168–261.
- Diaz, H., Orihuela, B. and Forward Jr, R. B., Visual orientation of post-larval and juvenile mangrove crabs. J. Crustacean Biol., 1995, 15, 671–678.
- Leaf Litter Translocation and Consumption in Mangrove Ecosystems: the Key Role Played by the Sesarmid Crab Neosarmatium malabaricum
Abstract Views :254 |
PDF Views:114
Authors
Affiliations
1 Division of Conservation Biology, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram 695 562, IN
2 University of Kerala, Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram 695 581, IN
1 Division of Conservation Biology, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram 695 562, IN
2 University of Kerala, Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram 695 581, IN
Source
Current Science, Vol 110, No 10 (2016), Pagination: 1969-1976Abstract
Nutrient cycling in mangrove forests is strongly linked to detrital processing of leaf litter, as compared to direct herbivorous consumption. Sesarmid crabs play a key role in detrital pathways in mangrove forests by processing a large amount of leaf litter produced in the ecosystem. We studied the rate of leaf litter translocation and consumption by a sesarmid crab, Neosarmatium malabaricum, through an ex situ experiment simulating field conditions. We supplied weighed senescent leaves of Aegiceras corniculatum, Avicennia officinalis, Excoecaria agallocha and Rhizophora mucronata to the crab. When provided separately, the crab translocated leaf litter of E. agallocha the maximum, and that of Rhizophora mucronata the minimum to the burrows. When litter mixed together was provided, the rate of translocation was the highest. The crabs consumed up to 80.24% of the litter that they translocated. We found this species capable of translocating 4.39 ±1.68 g of leaf litter m-2 per day and that its population had the potential to translocate 1.81 times more leaf litter than the ecosystem produced, based on comparisons of translocation rate, density of N. malabaricum and leaf litter production in the study area. Our experiments emphasize the key role played by this crab in detrital pathways of mangrove ecosystem.Keywords
Aegiceras, Avicennia, Detrital Pathways, Excoecaria, ex Situ Experiments, Leaf Litter Translocation, Mangroves Crabs, Neosarmatium malabaricum, Nutrient Cycling, Rhizophora.Full Text