Patterns Of Shell Utilization And Selection In Two Sympatric Hermit Crabs (anomura: Diogenidae) In South-eastern Brazil

The present study evaluated shell utilization and preference of two sympatric hermit crab species, Calcinus tibicen and Clibanarius antillensis, from Ilha Galheta de Dentro, Vitória Bay, south-eastern Brazil. Distribution of individuals and use and availability of shells were estimated in the field, where microhabitat and shell partitioning were demonstrated between the two species of crabs. Calcinus occurred in higher numbers in the infralittoral fringe and shallow subtidal, while Clibanarius was found mainly in the midlittoral zone. The crabs used shells of different architectures and sizes. Calcinus used mainly globose and low spired shells (Tegula viridula and Cymatium parthenopeum), while Clibanarius utilized predominantly the elongated and high spired ones (mainly Cerithium atratum). Clibanarius used shells with smaller volume, weight, and aperture. Free access experiments were conducted in the laboratory and showed that Calcinus and Clibanarius had a high satisfaction rate, i.e. only 50% of the crabs exchanged their shells. From those that exchanged, they chose shells with higher internal volume than that used in the field, while shell weight did not present any increase. Clibanarius was found in shells closer to the preferred ones and in a very different proportion from shell availability, contrasting to Calcinus, which followed shell availability instead of their preferences. Shell internal volume was more important as a choice factor than the weight for both hermit crab species, showing that crabs optimized shell volume in relation to shell weight in the free access experiments.80610531059Bach, C.B., Hazlett, B., Rittschof, D., Effects of interspecific competition on fitness of the hermit crab Clibanarius tricolor (1976) Ecology, 57, pp. 579-586Bertness, M.D., Shell preference and utilization patterns in littoral hermit crabs of the Bay of Panama (1980) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 48, pp. 1-16Bertness, M.D., Pattern and plasticity in tropical hermit crab growth and reproduction (1981) American Naturalist, 117, pp. 754-773Bertness, M.D., Conflicting advantages in resource utilization: The hermit crab housing dilemma (1981) American Naturalist, 118, pp. 432-437Bertness, M.D., Shell utilization, predation pressure, and thermal stress in Panamanian hermit crabs: An interoceanic comparison (1982) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 64, pp. 159-187Busato, P., Benvenuto, C., Gherardi, F., Competitive dynamics of a Mediterranean hermit crab assemblage: The role of interference and exploitative competition for shells (1998) Journal of Natural History, 32, pp. 1447-1451Conover, M.R., The importance of various shell characteristics to the shell-selection behaviour of hermit crabs (1978) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 32, pp. 131-142Elwood, R.W., Neil, S.J., (1992) Assessments and decisions: A study of information gathering by hermit crabs, , London: Chapman & HallFloeter, S.R., Nalesso, R.C., Padrões de utilização de conchas e distribuição espacial em duas espécies simpatricas de caranguejos-ermitões (Crustacea, Anomura) na Ilha Galheta de Dentro-Baía de Vitória, ES (1998) Anais do IV Simpósio de Ecossistemas Brasileiros, ACIESP Publicações, 104, pp. 349-355Fotheringham, N., Population consequences of shell utilization by hermit crabs (1976) Ecology, 57, pp. 570-578Gherardi, F., Competition and coexistence in two Mediterranean hermit crabs, Calcinus ornatus (Roux) and Clibanarius erythropus (Latreille) (Decapoda, Anomura) (1990) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 143, pp. 221-238Gherardi, F., Nardone, F., The question of coexistence in hermit crabs: Population ecology of a tropical intertidal assemblage (1997) Crustaceana, 70, pp. 608-629Gleibs, S., Mebs, D., Sequestration of a marine toxin (1998) Coral Reefs, 17, p. 338Hazlett, B.A., Social behavior of the Paguridae and Diogenidae of Curaçao (1966) Studies on Fauna of Curaçao, 88, pp. 1-143Hazlett, B.A., The behaviour ecology of hermit crabs (1981) Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 12, pp. 1-22Kellogg, C.W., Gastropod shells: A potentially limiting resource for hermit crabs (1976) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 22, pp. 101-111Kellogg, C.W., Coexistence in a hermit crab ensemble (1977) Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, 153, pp. 133-144Krebs, C.J., (1989) Ecological methodology, , New York: Harper Collins PublishersLeite, F.P.P., Turra, A., Gandolfi, S.M., Hermit crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura), gastropod shells and environmental structure: Their relationship in south-eastern Brazil (1998) Journal of Natural History, 32, pp. 1599-1608Lively, C.M., A graphical model for shell-species selection by hermit crabs (1988) Ecology, 69, pp. 1233-1238Osorno, J.L., Fernandez-Casillas, L., Rodriguez-Juarez, C., Are hermit crabs looking for light and large shells? Evidence from natural and field induced shell exchanges (1998) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 222, pp. 163-173Reese, E.S., Shell selection behaviour of hermit crabs (1962) Animal Behaviour, 10, pp. 347-360Scully, E.P., The effect of gastropod shell availability and habitat characteristics on shell utilization by the intertidal hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus Say (1979) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 37, pp. 139-152Scully, E.P., The effects of shell availability on intraspecific competition in experimental populations of the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus Say (1983) Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 71, pp. 221-236Spight, T.M., Availability and use of shells by intertidal hermit crabs (1977) Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, 152, pp. 120-133Turra, A., Leite, F.P.P., Clustering behaviour of hermit crabs (Decapoda, Anomura) in an intertidal rocky shore at São Sebastião, southeastern Brazil (2000) Revista Brasileira de Biologia, 60, pp. 1-6Turra, A., Leite, F.P.P., Shell utilization patterns of tropical intertidal hermit crabs. I. The case of Grande Beach Journal of Crustacean BiologyVance, R.R., Competition and mechanism of coexistence in three sympatric species of intertidal hermit crabs (1972) Ecology, 53, pp. 1062-1074Vance, R.R., The role of shell adequacy in behavioral interactions involving hermit crabs (1972) Ecology, 53, pp. 1076-1083Wilber, T.P., Herrnkind, W., Rate of new shell acquisition by hermit crabs in a salt marsh habitat (1982) Journal of Crustacean Biology, 2, pp. 588-592Zar, J.H., (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th ed., , New Jersey: Prentice-Hal

The Decapods Brachyura And Anomura Of Verde's River Estuary, Juréia-itatins Ecological Reserve, Sp Brazil [os Decápodos Brachyura E Anomura Do Estuário Do Rio Verde, Estação Ecológica De Juréia-itatins, Sp]

The Rio Verde Estuary, located at Juréia-Itatins Ecological Reserve, presents on its margins, several kinds of substrates and vegetations, such as sandbank, Atlantic forest, mangrove-swamp, rocky shore and sandy beaches. Using mainly manual collects, 21 species of Anomura and Brachyura decapods were obtained: Grapsidae and Ocypodidae were the most abundant families. The Cluster analysis showed that species from groups according to sediment type, although salinity and the presence of other species of animals and plants are also important. Mangrove swamp and rocky shore presented the higher number of species, so indicating they were habitats with a higher environmental heterogeneity.394821829Navarra, C.T., Fácies hidroquímicas dos rios da planície costeira Sul-paulista (1988) Acta Limnol. Brasil, 11, pp. 931-942Por, F.D., Stream type diversity in the Atlantic lowland of the Juréia area (Subtropical Brazil) (1986) Hydrobiologia, 131, pp. 39-45Por, F.D., Shimizu, G.Y., Almeida Prado-Por, M.S., Oliveira, I.R., Toha, F.L., The mangrove estuaries of a black water river (Rio Una) and of a clear water river (Rio Verde) on the shores of State of São Paulo. Simpósio Internacional sobre utilização de ecossistemas costeiros. Planejamento, Poluição e Produtividade (1982) Atlântica, 5 (2), p. 99MacArthur, R.H., (1972) Geographical Ecology, 269. , Princeton University Press, PrincetonAbele, L.G., Species diversity of decapod crustaceans in marine habitats (1974) Ecology, 55, pp. 156-161Romesburg, H.C., (1984) Clusters Analysis for Researchers, 334p. , Lifetime L. Publ. Belmont, CADuarte, L.F.L., Morgado, E.H., Crustáceos parasitos de invertebrados associados à esponja Zygomycale parishii (Bowerbank) e ao briozoário Schizoporella unicornis (Johnston, 1847) (1983) Iheringia. Ser. Zool., Porto Alegre, 11 (62), pp. 3-11Teal, J.M., Distribution of fiddler crabs in Georgia salt marshes (1958) Ecology, 39 (2), pp. 185-193Griffin, D.J.G., The ecological distribution of grapsid and ocypodid shore crabs (Crustacea:Brachyura) in Tasmania (1971) J. Anim. Ecol., 40, pp. 597-621Icely, J.D., Jones, D.A., Factors affecting the distribution of the genus Uca (Crustacea: Ocypodidae) on an East African shore (1978) Estuar. Coast. Mar. Sci., 6, pp. 315-325Abreu, J., Distribuição e ecologia dos decápodes numa área estuarina de Ubatuba (SP) (1980) Bolm. Inst. Oceanogr., S. Paulo, 29, pp. 1-3Abelló, P., Valladares, F.J., Castellón, A., Analysis of the structure of decapod crustacean assemblages of the Catalan coast (North-West Mediterranean) (1988) Mar. Biol., 98, pp. 39-49Knudsen, J.W., Aspects of the ecology of the California pebble crabs (Crustacea: Xanthidae) (1960) Ecol. Monogr., 30, pp. 165-185Coelho, P.A., Distribuição dos crustáceos decápodes na área de Barra das Jangadas (1963) Trabs. Inst. Oceanogr. Univ. Fed. Pe., Recife, 5-6, pp. 159-173. , 4Coelho, P.A., Os crustáceos decápodos de alguns manguezais pernambucanos (1965) Trabs. Inst. Oceanogr. Univ. Fed. Pe., Recife, 7-8, pp. 71-90. , 6Alcantara-Filho, P., (1982) Diversificação Intraespecífica do Caranguejo Uçá (Ucides Cordatus), 92p. , Tese de Doutorado. Instituto Oceanográfico. Universidade de Sào PauloFarias, M.C.Q., Crustáceos decápodos da Ilha da Restinga (1980) Bolm. Inst. Oceanogr., S. Paulo, 29 (2), pp. 169-172Warner, G.F., The life history of the mangrove tree crab, Aratus pisonii (1967) J. Zool., Lond., 153, pp. 321-335Wells, F.E., Comparative distribution of macromolluscs and macrocrustaceans in a North Western Australian mangrove system (1984) Aust J. Mar. Freshw. Res., 35, pp. 591-596Camilleri, J., Leaf choice by crustaceans in a mangrove forest in Queensland Mar (1989) Biol., 102, pp. 453-459Warren, J.H., Underwood, A.J., Effects of burrowing crabs on the topography of mangrove swamps in New South Wales (1986) J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 102, pp. 223-23

Tube Epifauna Of The Polychaetephyllochaetopterus Socialisclaparède

Animals greater than 1 mm, found among tangled tubes ofPhyllochaetopterus socialis(Chaetopteridae) from Araçá Beach, São Sebastião district, Brazil, were studied for 1 year, with four samples in each of four seasons. They comprised 10 338 individuals in 1722·7 g dry weight of polychaete tubes, with Echinodermata, Polychaeta (not identified to species) and Crustacea as the dominant taxa. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index did not vary seasonally, only two species (a holothurian and a pycnogonid) showing seasonal variation.Ophiactis savignyiwas the dominant species, providing 45·5% of individuals. Three other ophiuroids, the holothurianSynaptula hidriformis, the crustaceansLeptochelia savignyi,Megalobrachium soriatumandSynalpheus fritzmuelleri, the sipunculanThemiste alutaceaand the bivalveHiatella arcticawere all abundant, but most of the 68 species recorded occurred sparsely. The assemblage associated withP. socialiswas similar to the endofauna of the spongeZygomycale parishiiand the bryozoanSchizoporella unicornis, and to the epifauna of seaweedSargassum cymosum, all of which occurred nearby. © 1995 Academic Press. All rights reserved.4119110