Experimental studies on the foraging behavior of the sand fiddler crab Uca pugilator (Bosc, 1802)

Robertson, J.Roy; Bancroft, K. C. C.; Vermeer, Gregory K.; Plaisier, K

doi:10.1016/0022-0981(80)90102-1

Cited by 85 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Burrows are important for Uca tangeri in several ways, as described for other Uca species by many authors (Crane 1975, Powers & Cole 1976, Ringold 1979, Robertson et al 1980. They serve as a refuge from predators, for moistening the gills during low tide periods, as a place to stay in winter, and are necessary for courtship and reproduction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Burrowing of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri in the Ria Formosa in Portugal and its influence on sediment structure

Wolfrath¹

1992

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Burrowing activities of the only European fiddler crab, Uca tangeri, and its resulting influence on biotope in mudflats were investigated during 1989-1990 at Ria Formosa, Portugal. Individuals use the same burrow for ca 1 wk, then occupy another or dig a new one. Overall a burrow is inhabited for ca 3 mo by several individuals before it is abandoned. Vacated burrows decay within 2 to 3 wk. Burrow size and number vary with the season. Burrow density was highest in spring and early summer with ca 17 burrows m-2, and then decreased. Deepest burrows (up to 90 cm long) were found in winter, the shallowest (up to 40 cm long) in summer. Volume of the sediment moved by U. tangen varied monthly between 3000 and 6000 cm3 per m2 of mudflat. Water is only found in the lower third of the burrow. Burrow water contains less oxygen and more nitrate than the surrounding water of the Ria Formosa.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Burrowing of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri in the Ria Formosa in Portugal and its influence on sediment structure

Wolfrath¹

1992

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…In estuaries, food is most abundant in the lowest intertidal zones (Teal 1958;Robertson et al 1980). There, some fiddler crabs living on upper intertidal mud or sand flats form droves (or herds), moving to feed in the lower zone in order to compensate for food deficiency (e.g., U. tangeri, U. pugilator, Crane 1975;U.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of food availability on the semilunar courtship rhythm in the fiddler crab Uca lactea (de Haan) (Brachyura: Ocypodidae)

Kim

Choe

2003

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

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Semilunar or lunar reproductive rhythms that follow tidal cycles are common in marine animals. For brachyuran crabs, an adaptive explanation for the synchronous release of larvae in phase with the tidal cycle is that females release larvae when their offspring are best able to escape predators. As a corollary to this hypothesis, the synchronous male reproductive cycle is selected to be in phase with female receptivity. As an alternative hypothesis, we propose that variation in food abundance influences the onset and intensity of the semilunar courtship cycle. We tested this hypothesis in male fiddler crabs {Uca lactea) by experimentally manipulating food availability for 4 weeks. Food-supplemented males built more semidomes and waved for more days than did fooddeprived males or untreated control males. Moreover, food-supplemented males began courtship earlier and the median courtship day advanced with an increase in food. Courtship intensity was not related to crab size. These results provide the first evidence in marine animals that changes in food abundance due to the tides, and hence in phase with the semilunar cycle, influence male reproductive rhythm.

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“…Certain species, perhaps especially those closely related to carnivores, have highly developed chemoreceptory abilities for finding food-rich patches of sediment, resulting in a close coupling of food quality and feeding behavior. The fiddler crab Uca pugilator displays such refined chemoreceptory abilities (Robertson et al, 1980), as does the depositfeeding neogastropod Ilyanassa obsoleta (Crisp, 1969;Lopez, 1980).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestion Selectivity of Sedimentary Organic Matter by the Deposit-Feeder Nucula annulata (Bivalvia: Nuculidae)

Lopez¹,

Cheng²

1982

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Methods are described that allow a quantitative estimation of selective ingestion of sedimentary organic matter by deposit-feeding animals. The estimation can be made independently of any information of possible modes of selection. Animals need not be starved for a feeding trial. as is usual in other electivity studies. In the example presented, the protobranch bivalve Nucula amulata, when offered silt-clay sediment in which it was living, ingested sedimentary organic matter nonselectively.

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Experimental studies on the foraging behavior of the sand fiddler crab Uca pugilator (Bosc, 1802)

Cited by 85 publications

References 16 publications

Burrowing of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri in the Ria Formosa in Portugal and its influence on sediment structure

Burrowing of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri in the Ria Formosa in Portugal and its influence on sediment structure

The effect of food availability on the semilunar courtship rhythm in the fiddler crab Uca lactea (de Haan) (Brachyura: Ocypodidae)

Ingestion Selectivity of Sedimentary Organic Matter by the Deposit-Feeder Nucula annulata (Bivalvia: Nuculidae)

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