Are crabs stressed for water on a hot sand flat? Water loss and field water state of two species of intertidal fiddler crabs

Levinton, Jeffrey S.; Lord, Shanna; Higeshide, Yoshiaki

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2015.04.010

Cited by 22 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Empirical studies have however found contradictory evidence about these relationships [58,59] vs. [60], which could result from our lack of understanding of the mechanisms through which host genotype or species regulate its habitats. Fiddler crab species have been found to differ in some physiological factors [61] but not others [62] and whether these factors have an effect on their associated microbial communities is unknown. In contrast, the crab's sex, has been linked with increased richness in male gut bacteria (Cuellar-Gempeler and Munguia [63]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple colonist pools shape fiddler crab-associated bacterial communities

Cuellar-Gempeler

Leibold

2018

The ISME Journal

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Colonization is a key component of community assembly because it continuously contributes new species that can potentially establish and adds individuals to established populations in local communities. Colonization is determined by the regional species pool, which is typically viewed as stable at ecological time scales. Yet, many natural communities including plants, birds and microbes, are exposed to several distinct and dynamic sources of colonists and how multiple colonist pools interact to shape local communities remains unclear. Using a 16S rRNA amplicon survey, we profiled bacteria within surface, subsurface and burrow sediments and assessed their role as colonist pools for fiddler crab-associated bacteria. We found significant differences in composition among sediment types, driven by halophilic taxa in the surface, and different Desulfobacteraceae taxa in the subsurface and burrow. Bacteria from burrow sediment colonized the crab carapace whereas gut bacterial communities were colonized by burrow and surface sediment bacteria. Despite distinct colonist pools influencing gut bacteria, variation in composition across gut samples did not lead to significant clusters. In contrast, carapace bacterial communities clustered in six distinct groups loosely associated with crab species. Our findings suggest that multiple colonist pools can influence local communities but factors explaining variation in community composition depend on local habitats. Recognizing multiple colonist pools expands our understanding of the interaction between regional and local processes driving community structure and diversity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple colonist pools shape fiddler crab-associated bacterial communities

Cuellar-Gempeler

Leibold

2018

The ISME Journal

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“…These results can be aggregated to laboratory experiments and enhance the prediction of environmental change effects. As fiddler crab and mussel species are expected to be harmed by climate change (Smith et al , 2006; Levinton et al ., 2015; Principe et al ., 2018), such improvement in predictions can subsidize conservation efforts for those groups. Aquaculture professionals can also benefit from the use of POC devices for evaluating glucose of invertebrates during transport and in farms as these data can inform them about animal stress and welfare (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Point-of-care testing for measuring haemolymph glucose in invertebrates is not a valid method

Principe

Augusto

Costa

2019

Conservation Physiology

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“…On the other hand, by maintaining hydration via sponging, locomotion performances of the crabs (walking, retreating to burrow, etc.) could also be sustained (Weinstein et al 1994;Levinton et al 2015). Whilst the crabs' burrows are cooler than the sediment surface and allow the crabs to replenish moisture (Bauchau and Passelecq-Gerin 1988), retreating to the burrow will compromise surface feeding time (Munguia et al 2017) and, therefore, energy acquisition.…”

Section: Possible Functions Of Sponging Behaviour?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural plasticity in the monsoonal tropics: implications for thermoregulatory traits in sandy shore crabs

Hui

Williams

2021

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Behavioural time budgets of organisms reflect their reaction norms to environmental conditions and, as such, indicate their behavioural plasticity. In environments which limit the activity time of organisms, efficient organization of behaviours is critical to enhancing performance to achieve necessary functions and minimize time and/or energetic costs. We investigated variations in behavioural time budgets of a common deposit-feeding crab, Scopimera intermedia, to the spatio-temporal scales of environmental changes experienced on sandy shores in the monsoonal tropics, where activity times are restricted by the tides. Activity levels of the crabs varied strongly with air temperature, with crabs emerging from the sediments only when air temperature exceeded ~ 20 °C. Behavioural water uptake increased in frequency with both feeding rate and environmental temperature, and was often followed by waving displays. Water uptake and waving, therefore, appear to be multifunctional behaviours, as not only do the crabs replenish water for feeding and wave their chelipeds to court females, but these behaviours can also contribute to thermoregulation, enhancing cooling when taking up water from the sediment surface. Such plastic and multifunctional behavioural traits are likely a widespread solution for survival and reproductive success in harsh and dynamic environments, where specialized traits are energetically costly and time-inefficient to optimize performance. Significance statementSurviving in extreme and variable environments is challenging due to the potentially substantial energetic cost animals need to undertake in order to maximize performances under contrasting conditions. This study reveals a multitasking strategy adopted by the sand-bubbler crab to survive hot and variable temperatures within a limited activity time on tropical sandy shores. Behaviours of the crabs are strongly temperature dependent; and when active whilst the tide is out the crabs flexibly adjust their activity times to feed, stay cool and attract mates using a limited set of multifunctional behaviours. Specialized traits are therefore not necessary to achieve these critical functions and, as such, this study highlights the importance of this plastic, multitasking strategy as a common solution for animals to endure highly variable environments with minimal cost.

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Are crabs stressed for water on a hot sand flat? Water loss and field water state of two species of intertidal fiddler crabs

Cited by 22 publications

References 46 publications

Multiple colonist pools shape fiddler crab-associated bacterial communities

Multiple colonist pools shape fiddler crab-associated bacterial communities

Point-of-care testing for measuring haemolymph glucose in invertebrates is not a valid method

Behavioural plasticity in the monsoonal tropics: implications for thermoregulatory traits in sandy shore crabs

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