Behavioural adaptations in talitrids from two Atlantic beaches

Rossano, Claudia; Gambineri, Simone; Fanini, Lucia; Durier, Virginie; Rivault, Colette; Scapini, Felicita

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2009.09.029

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…see Rossano et al 2009). The period of the rhythm was read directly from the periodogram, and its definition estimated as a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), by measuring the difference between the peak periodogram value and its corresponding 95% confidence limit.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…More recently, an ultradian component with period of 12 hours has also been reported for T. saltator (Rossano et al 2009). The present study was aimed to investigate the locomotor activity of T. saltator from two geomorphologically different beaches, Bizerte and the Gulf of Gabes, and to estimate the impact of the seasonal variation on the endogenous rhythm of T. saltator, using autumn and spring as study seasons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

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Locomotor rhythm phenology ofTalitrus saltatorfrom two geomorphologically different beaches of Tunisia: Bizerte (North of Tunisia) and Gulf of Gabes (South of Tunisia)

Ayari

Nasri–Ammar

2012

Biological Rhythm Research

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Locomotor activity of the supra-littoral amphipod Talitrus saltator was studied in spring and autumn. Specimens were collected from two geomorphologically different beaches: Bizerte, in the North of Tunisia and the Gulf of Gabes in the South of Tunisia. The latter has the largest tidal amplitude in the Mediterranean basin. Adult individuals were collected by hand and transferred individually to actographs, equipped with an infrared recording system. These were placed in a controlled environment cabinet, where locomotor activity was monitored over a period of 16 days. The resulting endogenous rhythms of locomotor activity showed unimodal circadian and bimodal periods in amphipods from both Bizerte and Gulf of Gabes beaches. In spring, the unimodal activity pattern predominated at Gabes beach, whereas different patterns of activity (unimodal, bimodal, and plurimodal) were obtained among Bizerte population, with almost equal proportions. Highly significant differences between ultradian and circadian rhythmicities were revealed in both Bizerte and Gabes populations. These results are interpreted in the context of locomotor rhythm adaptation to the geomorphological conditions prevailing at the two collection sites.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Locomotor rhythm phenology ofTalitrus saltatorfrom two geomorphologically different beaches of Tunisia: Bizerte (North of Tunisia) and Gulf of Gabes (South of Tunisia)

Ayari

Nasri–Ammar

2012

Biological Rhythm Research

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“…Such a dependence on seasonal climatic variations was already described for a variety of Mediterranean locations and behaviours of T. saltator (BORGIOLI et al 1999a(BORGIOLI et al , 1999bNARDI et al 2003;FANINI et al 2007). On the other hand, it was found that on beaches with more marked tidal excursions, the sandhoppers are more influenced by tides (linked to the submersion risk; BORGIOLI et al 1999b;GAMBINERI et al 2008;ROSSANO et al 2009;BESSA et al 2013). This dependence of the behavioural adaptation on the strength/type of the risk under the particular circumstance is true not only for this species, but for a variety of other invertebrates, and was interpreted as phenotypic plasticity (HAZLETT 1988;BROWN 1996;SOARES et al 1999;WEST-EBERHARD 2003;GIURFA 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Seasonal variation in the orientation ofTalitrus saltatoron a Mediterranean sandy beach: an ecological interpretation

Nourisson

Scapini

2014

Ethology Ecology & Evolution

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The amphipod Talitrus saltator (Montagu 1808), diffused on the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic coasts, displays physiological and behavioural adaptations to life on sandy beaches. To avoid dehydration, sandhoppers burrow in moist sand near the water's edge during the day in the warmest seasons. When displaced, they can navigate to this safe zone using a sun compass and several additional mechanisms, both universal and local, an adaptive behaviour named 'zonal recovery'. In this study, we analysed the effects of several variables on the talitrids' orientation behaviour to highlight the relevance of the local cues and analyse the behavioural variation with relation to the ecology of sandy beaches. In different seasons for 2 years, orientation experiments were made on T. saltator sub-populations, at three sites of an extended sandy beach, differing in shoreline sedimentary dynamics; the main environmental, climatic and individual variables known to influence talitrid orientation were registered during each experimental session. The statistics of circular distributions were calculated and a multiple regression analysis adapted to angular data was performed, to highlight the scaling triggered by environmental conditions. The results showed that seasonal climatic variables played a primary role, adaptively modifying the sandhoppers' behaviour. A significant interaction with the site (the chosen sites differed for sedimentary dynamics) was observed as well. A high behavioural plasticity appears to guarantee to T. saltator a good adaptation (both as abundance and geographical spreading) to life on sandy beaches, which are notably unstable environments.

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“…Innate sun and moon compasses (Ugolini and Macchi 1988;Ugolini et al 2003Ugolini et al , 2005, the fine-tuning of which depends on environmental conditions (Fanini and Scapini 2008), are modified through well-developed learning capacity upon individual experience, and change rhythmically in response to environmental cues (Scapini et al 1996). While it has also been shown that landscape vision plays an important role in orientation (Rossano et al 2009), essentially nothing is known of how suitable beachcast wrack patches are recognised and localised by talitrid amphipods, or how they respond to the spatially and temporally dynamic structure of the beach landscape with respect to the location of wrack. Although they may not be entirely surrounded by suitable food resources, food detection per se is unnecessary in detritivorous soil invertebrates, but it is rather the fine-scale distinction of different food qualities that renders them successful foragers, be it through distance (Zimmer et al 1996-isopods) or contact (Weißenburg and Zimmer 2003;Zimmer 2003) chemoreception.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonisation of Beach-Cast Macrophyte Wrack Patches by Talitrid Amphipods: A Primer

Pelletier

Jelinski

Treplin

et al. 2011

Estuaries and Coasts

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Sandy beaches are characterised by heterogeneously distributed food sources both in time and space. The major energy supply is derived from marine subsidies in the form of beach-cast macrophyte wrack. Wrack patches are short-lived, and their position on the beaches varies with tidal and seasonal cycles as well as weather conditions. Little is known about how sandy beach inhabitants orient themselves towards, and colonise, wrack patches. In a series of field studies on islands off Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada), colonisation patterns of wrack patches by beach fleas and sand hoppers (Amphipoda: Talitridae), the most abundant macrofaunal detritivores, were studied. As indicated by colonisation of experimental patches of wrack and wrack surrogates that were either visible or buried in the sand, beach fleas (Traskorchestia traskiana) rely on olfactory cues for locating freshly deposited wrack patches in their patchy and dynamic habitat. Dense colonisation of freshly deposited algal wrack generally occurred within less than 1 h but depended upon the tidal height of wrack patches. Beach flea density in freshly deposited wrack patches increased with increasing tidal height. By contrast, sand hoppers (Megalorchestia californiana) colonised freshly deposited wrack patches in densities that decreased with tidal height. Discussing these interspecific differences, we provide a primer for future detailed studies on transport of matter along the marineterrestrial gradient of sand beaches.

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Behavioural adaptations in talitrids from two Atlantic beaches

Cited by 27 publications

References 40 publications

Locomotor rhythm phenology ofTalitrus saltatorfrom two geomorphologically different beaches of Tunisia: Bizerte (North of Tunisia) and Gulf of Gabes (South of Tunisia)

Locomotor rhythm phenology ofTalitrus saltatorfrom two geomorphologically different beaches of Tunisia: Bizerte (North of Tunisia) and Gulf of Gabes (South of Tunisia)

Seasonal variation in the orientation ofTalitrus saltatoron a Mediterranean sandy beach: an ecological interpretation

Colonisation of Beach-Cast Macrophyte Wrack Patches by Talitrid Amphipods: A Primer

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