Shell utilization pattern of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Crustacea, Anomura) in an estuary at São Vicente, State of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

We evaluated the gastropod shell utilization pattern of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802) at Pescadores Beach in São Vicente, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Specimens were collected monthly from May 2001 through April 2003, in the intertidal zone at low tide. The crabs were weighed and their carapace shield length measured. All gastropod shells were identified and had their shell biometric parameters (total length and aperture length) measured (mm) and weighed (g). A total of 2,344 hermit crabs (644 males, 1,594 females, 45 ovigerous females and 61 individuals in intersex), using 13 species of gastropod shells, were collected. Stramonita haemastoma (Linnaeus, 1767), Cymatium parthenopeum (Von Salis, 1793) and Achatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) comprised over 98% of all the shells. Male and intersex crabs were significantly larger than the females. This size difference strongly influenced the shell utilization pattern, principally in A. fulica, which has the largest shell size, that was only used by males and intersexual individuals of C. vittatus. Cymatium parthenopeum was the only shell species that showed a high determinant coefficient in all the biometric correlations evaluated. The high abundance of S. haemastoma shells and a strong correlation between crab size and shell aperture length established by a significant determination coefficient, indicated that C. vittatus uses this species as the principal resource for shell occupation at Pescadores Beach.

Morphometric Relationships Between the Hermit Crab Isocheles sawayai (Forest & Saint Laurent) (Crustacea Anomura Diogenidae) and its Shell from Southern Brazil

“…The linear and power relationships between several measures of the hermit crabs and the shells are in accordance with previous works [4,27]. Additionally, the tendency for a negative allometry in the relationship between these measures (see Table 2) is in accordance to the results obtained by former authors [4] for three species of Clibanarius.…”

Characterization of the occupied shells by the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Decapoda, Diogenidae) at Baixio Mirim tideflat, Guaratuba Bay, southern Brazil

“…Secondly, the occupation of a specific shell is influenced either by the interactions among hermit crabs, such as intra-specific competition for the shell, or by other resources (Bertness 1980, Gherardi and Nardone 1997, Dominciano and Mantelatto 2004, Sant'Anna et al 2006b), coexistence of different hermit crabs species (Kellog 1977, Bertness 1980, Gherardi and Nardone 834 SARA R. SAMPAIO and SETUKO MASUNARI 1997, Floeter et al 2000, Turra 2003, Sant'Anna et al 2006b), predation (Bertness 1982, Rotjan et al 2004), presence of gastropods in the community (Bertness 1980, Turra and Leite 2001, Sant'Anna et al 2006a, previous experience (Hazlett 1993, Hahn 1998, Meireles et al 2008, Alcaraz and Kruesi 2009) and formation of aggregations (Hazlett 1981, Turra andLeite 2000a). The hermit crab ability in detecting odours of died or dying gastropods was also reported (Kratt andRittschof 1991, Chiussi et al 2001).…”

“…Among these characteristics are weight (Hahn 1998, Dominciano and Mantelatto 2004, Turra and Leite 2004, size (Bertini andFransozo 2000, Turra andLeite 2004), opening size (Botelho and Costa 2000, Bertini and Fransozo 2000, Sant'Anna et al 2006a) and architecture and volume (Gherardi and Nardone 1997, Floeter et al 2000, Shih and Mok 2000.…”

Distribuição temporal do ermitão Clibanarius vittatus (Anomura, Diogenidae) no litoral do Paraná

“…A estrutura populacional desta espécie de ermitão é conhecida principalmente no sul da América do Norte (FOTHERINGHAM, 1975;LOWERY & NELSON, 1988) e no litoral do Estado de São Paulo (NEGREIROS-FRANSOZO et al, 1991;TURRA & LEITE, 2000;SANT'ANNA et al, 2006). Da América do Norte, são conhecidos aspectos da biologia de C. vittatus como a migração sazonal para as águas mais profundas, um comportamento efetivo para proteger estes animais das temperaturas muito frias das águas de superfície (FOTHERINGHAM, 1975), e segregação sexual causada por esta migração diferencial entre os sexos (LOWERY & NELSON, 1988).…”