Trophic relationships between the crab Libinia ferreirae and its symbionts

Gonçalves, Geslaine Rafaela Lemos; Santos, Pedro Vinícius Melo dos; Costa, Vladimir Eliodoro; Negreiros-Fransozo, Maria Lúcia; Bearhop, Stuart; Castilho, Antônio Leão

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105479

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…We suggest that the association of L. ferreirae and L. lucerna is kleptoparasitic, as the symbiont steals food captured by the host medusa, confirming the relationship that was proposed by Gonçalves et al (2021) . Thus, the relationship between the crab and medusa is not a commensalistic interaction as suggested for L. ferreirae by Gonçalves et al (2017a ) and L. spinosa by Sal Moyano et al (2012) .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…These authors observed nematocysts within the crabs’ stomach contents, suggesting that juvenile crabs may ingest nematocysts accidentally during feeding when stealing prey or scavenging detritus from the oral arms of their hosts. Gonçalves et al (2021) studied the symbiont crab food sources by stable isotopes confirm that the crab not prey the medusa tissue, this was ineligible food resource for the crab. As L. ferreirae is a generalist that feeds on what is available in the environment that they live ( Gonçalves et al, 2020a ), the habitat in which the crabs were found influenced the food preference ( Figure 7 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…As L. ferreirae is a generalist that feeds on what is available in the environment that they live ( Gonçalves et al, 2020a ), the habitat in which the crabs were found influenced the food preference ( Figure 7 ). When a crab associates with a medusa, their environment becomes one so the crab likely uses the medusa’s prey as a food source ( Gonçalves et al, 2021 ). This medusa species mostly feeds on Calanoid copepods, followed by cyclopoid and poecilostomatoid copepods, and bivalve veligers ( Nagata and Morandini 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No studies on this symbiotic relationship have yet accounted for 1) the positive or negative effect when a crab is on the host, 2) the type of symbiosis (parasitic, commensalistic, mutualistic), 3) degree of dependency (facultative or obligatory), and 4) the crab’s behavior during the relationship. Therefore, we describe the symbiotic relationship between L. ferreirae and L. lucerna , with the following main objectives: 1) to verify the temporal relationship between crab and medusa, analyzing the life cycle correlation between the 2 species; 2) to analyze the food habits of symbiont and free-living crabs, testing the niche partition theory; and 3) to comproving the kleptoparasitism relationship that the symbiont crab has with the medusa, that was proposed by Gonçalves et al (2021) . The knowledge of these interactions will provide important insights into how symbiont and host species coexist and how the type of symbiosis can influence the lives of both species.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ontogenetic niche specialization of the spider crab Libinia ferreirae associated with the medusa Lychnorhiza lucerna

et al. 2021

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Symbiotic relationships in marine environments are not fixed and can change throughout the animal’s life. This study investigated the ontogeny of symbiosis of the spider crab Libinia ferreirae with the host medusa Lychnorhiza lucerna. We described the type of relationship, the temporal correlation among species, and food habits. More than 50% of the sampled crabs were symbionts, most in early life stages. The highest number of crabs found in a single medusa was 11. Symbiosis was observed throughout most of the year but was more evident in warm periods. The crab has many benefits in this relationship with a medusa. One is the use of food resources captured by the medusa, primarily copepods. Because the crab steals the medusa’s food, it is a kleptoparasitic relationship. There is a niche partition between symbiont and the free-living crabs as they occupy different habitats and use nonoverlapping food resources. Previous research reported that symbiosis first developed during the crab’s last larval phase (megalopa) when crab and medusa are in the same habitat. Observation of the crab’s behavior shows that symbiosis occurs when the crab can grab to the medusa when the host touches the sea bottom. The crab also took advantage of water currents, releasing itself from the substrate and then drifting toward the medusa. The symbiotic relationship that crabs have with the medusa provides then with a nursery, food resources, shelter, dispersion, and decreased competition with free-living adult crabs, all essential for the crab’s survival.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%