Ontogeny of light response in the early life history of the red king crabParalithodes camtschaticus(Anomura: Lithodidae)

Abstract

Phototactic responses of light-adapted zoeae IV, glaucothoe, and first stage juveniles of the red king crab to three intensities of white light were quantitatively measured under laboratory conditions. All stages observed were photopositive to all light intensities tested, except for late glaucothoe (10 days since moulting) which did not respond to light stimuli. Phototactic response changed in the early life history of the red king crab. The extent of photopositive movement decreased after each metamorphosis. Peak phototactic response in zoea IV were observed at a light intensity of 1.9 Â 10 13 q cm À2 s À1 , in early glaucothoe at 1.1 Â 10 10 q cm À2 s À1 and in juveniles at 1.3 Â 10 9 q cm À2 s À1 . The data on behavioural responses to light may provide a better understanding of the early life history, survival and recruitment of the red king crab and assist the development of feasible methods and techniques for aquaculture of this species.

Ontogeny of sinking velocity, body density, and phototactic behaviour in larvae of the coconut crab Birgus latro: Implications for larval dispersal and recruitment in the sea

“…However, the incidence of negative phototaxis was very low and negative phototactic behaviour at low light intensities was only observed for a small proportion of third-and fourth-stage zoeae. In contrast to the coconut crab, negative phototactic behaviour was observed at low light intensities in the first zoeal stage of the red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, but not in the last (fourth) zoeal stage or the megalopal stage (Epelbaum et al, 2007;Shirley and Shirley, 1988). Thus, the ontogeny of the larval phototactic behaviour may be species specific.…”

“…Nevertheless, the photopositive larval behaviour observed in a narrow light field allowed us to examine the spectral sensitivity of the larval coconut crab with a similar experimental protocol. Furthermore, it provides a basis for developing larval culture techniques (Epelbaum et al, 2007) that will be useful in improving our knowledge of the early life history of this species and for producing juveniles to restore depleted wild populations (Hamasaki et al, 2009). Epelbaum et al (2007) proposed blacking out the bottoms of transparent tanks and illuminating the tanks as evenly as possible when culturing the photopositive larvae of the red king crab, to reduce the probability of the larvae crowding in the more-illuminated areas.…”

“…The pattern of phototaxis in response to high-intensity light is considered typical of brachyuran and anomuran crabs when the larvae are exposed to a narrow light field with a directional light source (Adams and Paul, 1999;Epelbaum et al, 2007;Forward, 1986Forward, , 1987 and Shirley, 1988). However, it must be remembered that positive phototaxis to higher light intensities is an artificial phenomenon, caused when the larvae were trapped in a narrow beam of light, and that the normal photic orientation of larvae occurring in the sea is only realized in the laboratory when a normal angular underwater light distribution is simulated (Forward, 1986(Forward, , 1987(Forward, , 1988(Forward, , 2009.…”

Technological scheme and biotechnical indices of industrial cultivation of red king crab juveniles in aquaculture

“…P. 317-333. Epelbaum A. B., Borisov R. R., Kovatcheva N. P. 2007. Ontogeny of light response in the early life history of the red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus (Anomura: Lithodidae) // Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology.…”

Effects of light intensity on molting, growth, precocity, digestive enzyme activity, and chemical composition of juvenile Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

“…The effects of light intensity have been studied on molting and growth (Vijayan and Diwan 1995;Hoang et al 2003;Wang et al 2004), maturation (Hoang et al 2002a, b) and activity (Wassenberg and Hill 1994;Fanjul-Mole et al 1998) in prawns or shrimps, but very few studies have investigated the effects of light intensity on the growth, survival, or behavior of crabs (Gardner and Maguire 1998;Vannini et al 1995;Rabbani and Zeng 2005;Epelbaum et al 2007). Furthermore, most studies related to light effect were carried out at a constant light intensity or photoperiod, which was different from natural conditions.…”