Bio-ecological aspects of the hermit crab Paguristes calliopsis (Crustacea, Diogenidae) from Anchieta Island, Brazil

Abstract

In southern Atlantic studies on hermit crab biology are scanty considering the local biodiversity. In this way, some population features of Paguristes calliopsis Forest and Saint Laurent, 1968 such as size frequency distribution, sex ratio and shell occupation in the natural environment were studied. Specimens were collected by means of scuba methods in the infralittoral area of the Anchieta Island. A total of 116 individuals were analyzed. Size measurements (minimum; maximum; mean shield length ± sd, respectively) were 0.8; 4.5; 2.76 ± 0.79 mm for males and 2.28 ± 0.36 mm for females. The sex ratio was 1.47:1 in favor of males which prevailed in the largest size classes. The hermit crabs occupied shells from eleven gastropod species and Cerithium atratum (Born 1778) was significantly the most occupied one (75.86%). Significant correlations were not obtained in all regression analysis, demonstrating sexual differences on fitting of the occupied shells. In the studied area P. calliopsis population is small if compared with the other hermit crab populations. The shell utilization varies as a function of shell availability and hermit crabs interspecific competition, in relation to the other coexistent species.

Spatiotemporal distribution and population structure of Clibanariussymmetricus(Randall, 1840) (Crustacea, Diogenidae) in an Amazon estuary

“…The sexual dimorphism recorded in the present study population is consistent with that found in the species at other latitudes (Reigada and Santos, 1997;Turra and Leite, 2000;Sampaio et al, 2009;Sant' Anna et al, 2009;Mantelatto et al, 2010). Sexual dimorphism appears to be a characteristic common to all hermit crabs (e.g., Mantelatto and Martinelli, 2001;Bertini et al, 2004;Biagi et al, 2006a;Ayres-Peres and Mantelatto, 2008;Fantucci et al, 2009). This may be related to the difference in energy available for growth, with males having more energy available for somatic growth in comparison with females, who must dedicate more energy to the production of eggs.…”

Population structure and morphology of South African deep‐water parapagurid hermit crabs

“…The sampling sites for S. dimorphus in Argentina overlapped with that of the Patagonian scallop ( Zygochlamys patagonica ) fishery, at depths of only 81–141 m (Schejter & Mantelatto, ), compared to the South African samples, which were collected at deeper depths of 74–667 m. However, our data suggest that females are, if anything, more abundant in shallower waters, but in contradiction to this, the shallow Argentinian samples are poorer in females than the South African ones. Deviations of the expected Fisher's 1:1 sex ratio (Fisher, ; Kolman, ), as reported here, are common among marine decapod crustaceans (Wenner, ) including hermit crab species, such as Calcinus latens (Wenner, ), Pagurus brevidactylus (Mantelatto, Christofoletti, & Valenti, ), P. calliopsis (Biagi, Meireles, & Mantelatto, ), P. criniticornis (Mantelatto, FariaI, IossiI, & BiagiI, ), Clibanarius antillensis (Turra & Leite, ) and Dardanus insignis (Frameschi, Andrade, Fransozo, Fernandes‐Goes, & Cobo, ).…”

Shell occupation by the endemic western Atlantic hermit crab Isocheles sawayai (Diogenidae) from Caraguatatuba, Brazil

“…Stramonita haemastoma was the one most occupied by the studied population (49.87%). This occupation percentage can be considered moderate when compared to other I. sawayai populations and other hermit crab species, which inhabited the most occupied shell species in higher percentages (60.6 to 90%) (Hebling and Wernick, 1974;Pinheiro et al, 1993;Bertini and Fransozo, 2000;Floeter et al, 2000;Biagi et al, 2006;Terossi et al, 2006). Considering that some shell species were occupied accidentally and almost half of the population inhabited one shell species in particular, I. sawayai showed a high plasticity in relation to shell diversity occupation which was also exhibited by this hermit crab population in Venezuela (Galindo et al, 2008).…”