Settlement behavior and substrate preference of the coconut crab Birgus latro megalopae on natural substrata in the laboratory

Hamasaki, Katsuyuki; Ishiyama, Naoki; Kitada, Shuichi

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2015.03.011

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Laboratory experiments show that the survival rate of B. latro megalopae increases in accordance with increases in the proportion of individuals wearing a shell and with the beginning of habitat selection for complex substrata (Hamasaki et al. ). Thus, wearing a shell must be indispensable for survival, i.e., for a successful sea‐to‐land transition by terrestrial hermit crabs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Megalopae of B. latro strongly select coral fragments for settlement during days 12–15 (Hamasaki et al. ), and they gather under shelters such as coral rubble after migrating onto land (Hamasaki et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Settlement and emigration behavior of coenobitid megalopae, including Coenobita compressus and B. latro , is characterized by swimming in the water column, walking, inspecting shells, entering shells, walking with a shell on the substrate, and migrating onto land (Brodie ; Hamasaki et al. ). Older megalopae of C. compressus and B. latro make a better transition to land than younger megalopae by manipulating shells (Brodie , , ; Hamasaki et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emigration behavior and molting during the sea‐to‐land transition of terrestrial hermit crabs under laboratory conditions

Hamasaki

Hatta

Ishikawa

et al. 2015

Invertebrate Biology

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Terrestrial hermit crabs in the family Coenobitidae (genera Coenobita and Birgus) must migrate onto land after completing a pelagic larval stage in the ocean. Better knowledge of emigration behavior would assist in the conservation and management of coenobitid populations by helping identify and protect the habitats they need to complete their life cycles. We cultured laboratory-born individuals of five coenobitid species (Coenobita cavipes, C. purpureus, C. rugosus, C. violascens, and Birgus latro) from megalopae to early juveniles (first, second, and/or third crabs) in vessels containing seawater and a hard substrate, and analyzed their behavior and molting in conjunction with our published data for C. brevimanus. Our results confirm that the coenobitids migrated from sea to land at the megalopal stage. Megalopae and early juveniles tended to select shells based on their body size. Inland-dwelling coenobitids, such as C. brevimanus, C. cavipes, and B. latro, had a longer duration from landing to first molt and had a prolonged first crab intermolt period compared with those of the beach-dwelling coenobitids C. purpureus, C. rugosus, and C. violascens, probably because of the adaptive traits for migrating to inland habitats. Little burrowing behavior was observed by megalopae of B. latro, but they had a strong tendency to be cryptic under shelters. Additionally, megalopae and early juveniles of Coenobita spp. created and utilized burrows somewhat differently. Our results suggest that coenobitids require specific microhabitats for completing their early life stages in the wild. In particular, megalopae of B. latro may need structurally complex refuges to migrate from the sea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emigration behavior and molting during the sea‐to‐land transition of terrestrial hermit crabs under laboratory conditions

Hamasaki

Hatta

Ishikawa

et al. 2015

Invertebrate Biology

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“…The coconut crab [Birgus latro (Linnaeus, 1767)], a sister taxon of the genus Coenobita, exhibits a similar early life history to the land hermit crabs (Hartnoll, 1988;Greenaway, 2003). Hamasaki et al (2015c) examined the substrate preferences (open sand, coral fragments, or brown algae) of coconut crab megalopae during settlement and reported that they selected structurally complex substrata (coral fragments or brown algae). Imafuku (2002) found newly landed megalopae of land hermit crabs in clusters of algae stranded around the high-water line at the beach of Kikaijima Island, Japan, where C. purpureus was the most abundant species.…”

Section: Important Habitats For Land Hermit Crabs During the Seato-lamentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence and distribution of early juvenile land hermit crabs at a small beach on the Boso Peninsula, Japan

et al. 2020

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The present study was conducted to examine the occurrence and distribution of early juvenile land hermit crabs of the genus Coenobita on a small beach on the Boso Peninsula, Japan as a basis for understanding the important habitats that land hermit crabs use during the sea-to-land transition. The survey sites were supratidal zones at six points with heterogeneous topography, and visual surveys for early juveniles were conducted from middle July to late October in 2015 and 2016. The number of empty gastropod shells in four quadrats along the intertidal zone at each point was also counted in the 2016 survey. The occurrence of early juveniles varied among survey points and was spatially stable for two successive years. The first appearance and abundance of early juveniles varied among survey years. Early juveniles were abundant at points with a gravel bottom throughout the intertidal zone, and empty gastropod shells were also abundant at these points. The abundance of early juveniles was highly correlated with the amount of empty gastropod shells. Thus, our surveys suggested the importance of the sediment types and abundance of empty gastropod shells in the intertidal zones for settlement and landing by land hermit crabs.

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“…Larvae hatch into the sea, and they spend their planktonic life through several zoeal stages before metamorphosis into the megalopal stage (Hartnoll ; Nakasone ; Hamasaki et al. ,b). The megalopae enter empty gastropod shells, and they then migrate onto land (Reese ; Harvey ; Brodie ; Hamasaki et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recruitment to adult habitats in terrestrial hermit crabs on the coast of Ishigakijima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

Hamasaki

Fujikawa

Iizuka

et al. 2017

Invertebrate Biology

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Terrestrial hermit crabs in the family Coenobitidae (genera Coenobita and Birgus) are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. They occupy various habitats ranging from shore to inland forests, and the two shore‐dwelling species, Coenobita rugosus and C. violascens, possess different distributional characteristics on Ishigakijima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Coenobita rugosus is distributed throughout the coast of the island and is abundant in beach areas, whereas C. violascens has mainly been found in river mouth areas. However, very little is known about the habitats used by the early life stages of coenobitid crabs because identifying the species of recently landed early juveniles is difficult. We tested whether the species compositions of early juveniles of coenobitids differed between beach and river mouth sites on Ishigakijima Island. We collected and identified the early stage coenobitids using PCR–RFLP techniques. A total of 576 early juveniles of five Coenobita species were collected, of which 0.7% were C. brevimanus, 7.3% were C. cavipes, 0.2% were C. purpureus, 70.1% were C. rugosus, and 21.7% were C. violascens. The early juveniles of Birgus latro were not found. The early juveniles of C. rugosus occurred at both beach and river mouth sites, and they were abundant at beach sites. The early juveniles of C. violascens were only found at river mouth sites. These findings indicate that C. rugosus and C. violascens complete their life cycles on land near the localities where they land. The early juveniles of the inland‐dwelling species, C. cavipes, were also mainly collected from river mouth sites, which suggested that juveniles of C. cavipes selected landing sites near river mouth areas and then migrated into the inland forests, passing through riverside areas. Our results highlighted the importance of river mouth areas for recruitment to adult habitats by some coenobitid species.

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Settlement behavior and substrate preference of the coconut crab Birgus latro megalopae on natural substrata in the laboratory

Cited by 9 publications

References 46 publications

Emigration behavior and molting during the sea‐to‐land transition of terrestrial hermit crabs under laboratory conditions

Emigration behavior and molting during the sea‐to‐land transition of terrestrial hermit crabs under laboratory conditions

Occurrence and distribution of early juvenile land hermit crabs at a small beach on the Boso Peninsula, Japan

Recruitment to adult habitats in terrestrial hermit crabs on the coast of Ishigakijima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

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