Predation of the ribbed mussel geukensia demissa by the blue crab callinectes sapidus

Seed, Raymond B.

doi:10.1016/0077-7579(82)90027-8

Cited by 26 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Hence, determining the mechanisms involved in decisions taken by predators of different sizes are crucial to understand which prey size or species are more exposed to mortality and to reach management decisions on cultivation systems exposed to blue crab invasion. According to available information from native ecosystems, increasing shell size can provide a refuge from predation and there is a critical upper threshold of prey size from which predation is unfeasible (e.g., Seed, 1980Seed, , 1982Hughes and Seed, 1981;Arnold, 1984;Eggleston, 1990a,b;Lin, 1991), but details on predation strategies in the Mediterranean is still limited (but see Kampouris et al, 2019). However, somehow contrasting patterns of size predation appear to occur among species, possibly associated to differences in the energetic cost of breaking each type of shell (Micheli, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prey size and species preferences in the invasive blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: Potential effects in marine and freshwater ecosystems

Prado

Peñas

Ibáñez

et al. 2020

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prey size and species preferences in the invasive blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: Potential effects in marine and freshwater ecosystems

Prado

Peñas

Ibáñez

et al. 2020

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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“…The breaking time, Tb (time from first contact with the mussel to time of first eating the flesh), the eating time, T, (time taken to eat the mussel), and the handling time, Th (Tb+ T,) were all recorded (e.g. Seed 1982, Davidson 1986, Sanchez-Salazar et al 1987). The uneaten mussel was removed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological and physical factors influencing genotype-dependent mortality in hybrid mussel populations

Gardner¹,

Skibinski²

1991

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Biological (predation) and physical (wave actlon) factors influencing mortality of MyUus edulis and M , gallopromcialis mussel types within hybrid and pure populations were investigated with the aim of identifying possible selective factors responsible for observed length-and age-dependent genotypic variation In laboratory tests, shore crabs Carcinus maenas did not significantly prefer any type when choosing between mussels from a hybrid population. When presented with edulis and galloprovinciaLis from allopatric populations the crabs expressed no significant preference for either mussel type. Neither crab sex nor crab size significantly affected mussel type chosen. Dogwhelks also did not express a significant preference for mussel type when feeding upon mussels of a hybrid population, but did exhibit significant preference for edulis over galloprovincialis from pure populat i o n~. Mussel strength of attachment (SOA) to the substrate was tested in 2 hybrid mussel populations. Croyde and Whitsand in SW England. Shell length and genotype, but not population, explained significant variation in SOA. At all lengths, edulis-like mussels had a significantly lower SOA than galloprovincialis-like mussels. Overall, these results suggest that neither predator is likely to be responsible for the higher frequency of galloprovincialis in larger and older mussels of mixed population~. However, the SOA data indicate that this physical factor, which is related to site-specific wave action, is correlated with genotype-dependent mortality. It is concluded that the strong negative correlation between eduhs frequency and length (and also age) in many hybrid populations results partly from a slight galloprovincialis growth advantage (measured by in situ growth experiments), but mainly from selective mortality of edulis individuals.

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“…Laboratory choice experiments have shown that blue crabs exhibit size selectivity when feeding on hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) (Arnold 1984; Peterson 1990), mussels (Geukensia demissa) (Seed 1980(Seed , 1982 Eggleston 1990). Adult blue crabs feeding on a range of sizes of hard clams preferentially consumed those smaller than 2-5 cm in length, although they were able to consume larger clams (Arnold 1984;Peterson 1990).…”

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confidence: 99%

Behavioural Plasticity in Prey-Size Selectivity of the Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus Feeding on Bivalve Prey

Micheli¹

1995

The Journal of Animal Ecology

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. British Ecological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Animal Ecology. Summary 1. Prey-size selectivity of predators can play an important role in determining the predators' impact on their prey. In marine systems, a pattern of preference for small-sized molluscan prey is widespread among crustacean predators, even though predators are often able to consume prey over a wider size range. 2. In laboratory tests the blue crab Callinectes sapidus showed preference for smaller individuals of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. This was true for crabs starved for different durations of time, prior to experiment. Hungrier crabs tended to be less selective than the less hungry ones, although not significantly so. 3. In order to determine whether such selectivity is hard-wired (i.e. engrained) or can be modified through experience, adult blue crabs were tested for preference between two different sizes of hard clams after a phase of conditioning on different combinations of live and sham (i.e. empty valves glued together and deployed in living position) clams of the two sizes. 4. In the conditioning trial, crabs consumed more sham clams of both sizes than live clams, although sham clams did not yield any energy return. The greater consumption of sham clams by blue crabs might be explained by the lower cost of crushing dead clam shells, as dead shells seemed to be more brittle than the live ones. 5. Conditioning significantly affected size selectivity in the subsequent test trial. Crabs assigned to different conditioning treatments consumed significantly different proportions of large clams in the test trial. In particular, crabs that had consumed greater proportions of large (sham) clams during the conditioning trial also ate significantly greater proportions of large (live) clams in the test trial than those which had consumed greater proportions of small (sham) clams during conditioning. 6. These results indicate that the blue crabs' preference for small-sized clams does not result from a fixed decision rule and suggest that crabs might modify their preferences through experience. Furthermore, the relative strength of shells seemed more important than profitability ratios in determining patterns of prey-size consumption. 7. An understanding of what perceptual and cognitive constraints underlie feeding preferences of 'keystone' marine predators could help in making predictions about the impact of such predators on prey communities.

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Predation of the ribbed mussel geukensia demissa by the blue crab callinectes sapidus

Cited by 26 publications

References 11 publications

Prey size and species preferences in the invasive blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: Potential effects in marine and freshwater ecosystems

Prey size and species preferences in the invasive blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: Potential effects in marine and freshwater ecosystems

Biological and physical factors influencing genotype-dependent mortality in hybrid mussel populations

Behavioural Plasticity in Prey-Size Selectivity of the Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus Feeding on Bivalve Prey

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