Temperature and Habitat Complexity Mediate Cannibalism in Red King Crab: Observations on Activity, Feeding, and Prey Defense Mechanisms

Stoner, Allan W.; Ottmar, Michele L.; Haines, Scott A.

doi:10.2983/035.029.0401

Cited by 38 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…This result is consistent with a welldeveloped body of evidence that suggests that increasing habitat complexity reduces prey mortality (e.g., Fernández et al 1993;Dittel et al 1996;Fernández 1999;Langellotto and Denno 2006;Stoner et al 2010;Hill and Weissburg 2013;Hernández Cordero and Seitz 2014). The most common mechanism to explain the influence of habitat complexity is a decrease in the rate of predator-prey encounters.…”

Section: The Influence Of Habitatsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…A second mechanism to explain why juvenile green crab mortality levels were unaffected by habitat is the exact opposite; juvenile green crabs may lack the ability to effectively use complex habitat to escape predation. Long et al (2015) suggested that responding to predator presence by engaging in cryptic behavior (i.e., hiding in complex habitat) may be a learned behavior, and in some crab species, refuge-seeking behavior is known to develop with size and age (Johnson et al 2008;Stoner et al 2010;Pirtle et al 2012). Under this hypothesis, we might expect that 'naïve' juvenile mortality would indeed be similar across habitat types, while the mud crabs (already adults in our experiment) would be expected to be more experienced and have a greater affinity for hiding in complex environments.…”

Section: The Influence Of Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hide and seek: habitat-mediated interactions between European green crabs and native mud crabs in Atlantic Canada

et al. 2016

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Section: The Influence Of Habitatsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: The Influence Of Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hide and seek: habitat-mediated interactions between European green crabs and native mud crabs in Atlantic Canada

et al. 2016

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“…The daily mortality rates of the 2000 crabs m −2 density treatment were 1.3% mortality day −1 in the previous study and 1.8% mortality day −1 in this study, which is likely attributed to exacerbated cannibalism from the warmer rearing temperature (Stoner et al . ). The longer rearing period and warmer rearing temperature in this study allowed for additional growth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Dietary astaxanthin supplementation for hatchery-cultured red king crab,Paralithodes camtschaticus, juveniles

2012

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We conducted large-scale production trials in Seward, Alaska, USA to investigate effects of dietary astaxanthin supplementation on survival, growth and shell colouration of recently settled juvenile (C1-C4) red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus). We supplemented a control diet of commercial crustacean feeds with astaxanthin, and fed these diets to juvenile king crabs at densities of 2000 and 4000 crabs m À2 for 56 days. We assessed survival and growth by counting crabs and individually measuring carapace width and weighing crabs at the start and end of the experiment, and quantified crab colour (hue, saturation, brightness) in digital photographs. Diets containing astaxanthin had higher survival, suggesting that astaxanthin may provide nutritional or immune system benefits. Crabs had lower hue, higher saturation and lower brightness values when fed diets containing astaxanthin, suggesting that red king crab colouration is plastic and responds to diet. Astaxanthin is likely an important dietary component for hatchery or laboratory reared red king crab juveniles, and should be considered for aquaculture and other rearing of this and possibly other crustacean species.

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“…These results are in agreement with a growing body of evidence that suggests that increasing habitat complexity decreases prey mortality ( e.g . Fernandez et al., ; Dittel, Epifanio, & Natunewicz, ; Fernández, ; Langellotto & Denno, ; Stoner, Ottmar, & Haines, ; Hill & Weissburg, ; Hernández Cordero & Seitz, ). The most likely mechanism to explain the influence of habitat complexity is a decrease in the rate of predator–prey encounters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of habitat complexity on cannibalism rates in European green crabs (Carcinus maenas Linnaeus, 1758)

et al. 2017

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The habitat in which predator–prey interactions take place may have a profound influence on the outcome of those interactions. Cannibalism is an intriguing form of predation whereby foraging by predators may contribute to the regulation of their own populations.This is particularly interesting in the case of invasive species, like the widely distributed European green crab (Carcinus maenas). This study explores how habitat complexity influences cannibalism rates in green crab populations of Prince Edward Island, Atlantic Canada. Both laboratory and field experiments were conducted to measure feeding rates by individual adult green crabs on a standard number of smaller conspecifics. In the laboratory, experimental treatments mimicked unstructured to increasingly structured habitats: water, sandy bottom, oyster shells, mussel shells, oyster shells with sandy bottom and mussel shells with sandy bottom. In those trials, adult green crabs consumed several times more juveniles on unstructured habitats than on the most structured ones, with a gradual decrease in predation rates across increasingly complex habitats. Field inclusion experiments used the same approach and were conducted in sandy bottoms, sandy bottoms with a layer of oyster shells and sandy bottoms with a layer of mussel shells. These trials showed similar patterns of decreasing feeding rates across increasingly complex habitats, but differences among treatments were not significant. These results support the idea that complex habitats have the potential to mediate predator–prey interactions, including adult–juvenile cannibalism in green crabs.

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Temperature and Habitat Complexity Mediate Cannibalism in Red King Crab: Observations on Activity, Feeding, and Prey Defense Mechanisms

Cited by 38 publications

References 50 publications

Hide and seek: habitat-mediated interactions between European green crabs and native mud crabs in Atlantic Canada

Hide and seek: habitat-mediated interactions between European green crabs and native mud crabs in Atlantic Canada

Dietary astaxanthin supplementation for hatchery-cultured red king crab,Paralithodes camtschaticus, juveniles

Effects of habitat complexity on cannibalism rates in European green crabs (Carcinus maenas Linnaeus, 1758)

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