Does food partitioning vary in leaf-eating crabs in response to source quality?

Pereira, Tamara Maciel; Nóbrega, Gabriel Nuto; Ferreira, Tiago Osório; Ogawa, Cynthia Yuri; Camargo, Plínio Barbosa de; Silva, José Roberto Feitosa; Rezende, Carla Ferreira

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.12.005

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(90 reference statements)

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“…High leaf consumption rates result in rapid utilization of nutrients in mangrove leaves before they are exported by the tide (Nagelkerken et al, 2008). For instance, leaf-eating crabs living in mangrove forests along the semi-arid coast of Brazil consume more sediment organic matter (SOM) and omnivorous invertebrates to replenish nitrogen, in addition to feeding on mangrove leaf litter because of its high C/N ratio (Pereira et al, 2019). Several studies have shown that leaf-eating crabs supplement their nitrogen-poor diet of leaves by consuming sediment-associated bacteria, microbenthos and fungi, and animal tissues (Kristensen et al, 2010;Oakes et al, 2010;Medina-Contreras et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tidal zone effects on the diet composition of leaf-eating crabs in natural mangrove communities: a stable isotope analysis

Lu,

Gu,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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BackgroundIn natural mangrove communities, mangrove species are often distributed zonally. Leaf-eating crabs are one of the most abundant and iconic arboreal brachyurans in mangrove forests, but variation in the composition of crab diets in different mangrove tidal zones is unknown.MethodsTo determine the contributions of mangrove leaves and other organic carbon (C) sources to leaf-eating crab diets, dual stable C and nitrogen (N) isotope signatures (δ13C and 1δ5N) were used in a Bayesian stable isotope mixing model. We conducted experiments at various tidal levels in the Dongzhaigang Bay National Natural Reserve in China. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N of leaf-eating crabs, mangrove leaves, sediment organic matter (SOM), and animal tissues (prey).ResultsThe food composition of the dominant crab species, Parasesarma continentale, exhibited significant differences among the four tidal zones. From the margin to the high tide zone, the main food source shifted from predominantly mangrove leaves and SOM to primarily SOM and animal tissues. We observed a significant negative relationship between the C/N ratios of mangrove leaves and the proportion of leaves consumed by leaf-eating crabs. Additionally, as the tidal level increased, the C/N ratio of mangrove leaves also increased, whereas the proportion of leaves consumed by crabs decreased.ConclusionLeaf-eating crab diets vary significantly across tidal zones, highlighting the importance of considering tidal zone differentiation when studying consumer diets in mangrove ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tidal zone effects on the diet composition of leaf-eating crabs in natural mangrove communities: a stable isotope analysis

Lu,

Gu,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Until recently, the prevailing hypothesis is that herbivorous crabs can partly meet their N requirement by occasional consumption of animal tissue, through predation or cannibalism (Thongtham et al, 2008;Nordhaus et al, 2011;Pereira et al, 2019). Additional N may be supplied by consuming the microphytobenthos (MPB), fungi, meiofauna and particular organic matter in surface sediment (Bouillon et al, 2002;Oakes et al, 2010;De Lima-Gomes et al, 2011;Tue et al, 2012;MacKenzie et al, 2020) or macroalgae on mangrove roots (Gao et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding Strategies of Mangrove Leaf-Eating Crabs for Meeting Their Nitrogen Needs on a Low-Nutrient Diet

Gao

Lee

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Sesarmid crabs play an important role in mangrove biogeochemical processes due to their leaf-eating and burrowing activities. How leaf-eating mangrove crabs meet their nitrogen (N) needs remains a puzzle, as N-poor leaf litter (<1% dry weight) cannot support the growth of most macrofauna. Several strategies for overcoming this challenge have been proposed, but the actual mechanisms remain unknown. We identified two categories of leaf-eating crabs according to their feeding habits (1): species active outside their burrows during low tide - we hypothesize that they meet their N needs through consuming the microphytobenthos (MPB) (hypothesis H1); and (2) species spending most of their time inside burrows - we hypothesize that they meet their N needs through N-fixation by associated microbes (H2). To test H1, we conducted a series of feeding experiments on the sesarmid crab Parasesarma affine (model species for category 1) with 13C- and 15N-enriched MPB and mangrove leaves. P. affine relied mainly on mangrove leaves as their C source and MPB as their N source, supporting H1. Two feeding experiments on Neosarmatium smithi (model species for category 2) showed that N limitation could be ameliorated by selecting seasonally available higher-quality food items such as floral parts, or by supplements from the associated nitrogen-fixing bacteria, as identified by genomic analysis. The strategy by which leaf-eating crabs meet their N needs may make significant contribution both to the growth of crabs and to their ecosystem functions of regulating the cycling of significant nutrient elements. The stoichiometric regulations by leaf-eating crabs to meet their N needs, such as food selection, can enhance trophic efficiency and nutrient transfer rate at the community level and ultimately increase nutrient turnover rate at the ecosystem level.

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Differences in organic carbon accumulation in mangrove soils due to foraging by herbivorous crabs

Zhang,

Liu,

Chen

et al. 2024

Marine Environmental Research

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Does food partitioning vary in leaf-eating crabs in response to source quality?

Cited by 4 publications

References 61 publications

Tidal zone effects on the diet composition of leaf-eating crabs in natural mangrove communities: a stable isotope analysis

Tidal zone effects on the diet composition of leaf-eating crabs in natural mangrove communities: a stable isotope analysis

Feeding Strategies of Mangrove Leaf-Eating Crabs for Meeting Their Nitrogen Needs on a Low-Nutrient Diet

Differences in organic carbon accumulation in mangrove soils due to foraging by herbivorous crabs

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