A preliminary assessment of the rôle of the terrestrial decapod crustaceans in the Aldabran ecosystem

Alexander, H. G. L.

doi:10.1098/rstb.1979.0031

Cited by 35 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…It appears not to burrow on sandy cays, and was associated with leaf litter or fallen trees (e.g., Oeno Atoll and Mañagaha Islet, Saipan). Geograpsus crinipes is a voracious omnivore, often preying on other land crabs, including small coenobitids, ocypodids [53], and G. grayi [52] (pers. obs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution, Insular Restriction, and Extinction of Oceanic Land Crabs, Exemplified by the Loss of an Endemic Geograpsus in the Hawaiian Islands

Paulay

Starmer

2011

PLoS ONE

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Most oceanic islands harbor unusual and vulnerable biotas as a result of isolation. As many groups, including dominant competitors and predators, have not naturally reached remote islands, others were less constrained to evolve novel adaptations and invade adaptive zones occupied by other taxa on continents. Land crabs are an excellent example of such ecological release, and some crab lineages made the macro-evolutionary transition from sea to land on islands. Numerous land crabs are restricted to, although widespread among, oceanic islands, where they can be keystone species in coastal forests, occupying guilds filled by vertebrates on continents. In the remote Hawaiian Islands, land crabs are strikingly absent.Here we show that absence of land crabs in the Hawaiian Islands is the result of extinction, rather than dispersal limitation. Analysis of fossil remains from all major islands show that an endemic Geograpsus was abundant before human colonization, grew larger than any congener, and extended further inland and to higher elevation than other land crabs in Oceania.Land crabs are major predators of nesting sea birds, invertebrates and plants, affect seed dispersal, control litter decomposition, and are important in nutrient cycling; their removal can lead to large-scale shifts in ecological communities. Although the importance of land crabs is obvious on remote and relatively undisturbed islands, it is less apparent on others, likely because they are decimated by humans and introduced biota. The loss of Geograpsus and potentially other land crabs likely had profound consequences for Hawaiian ecosystems.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coenobitids (including Birgus ) are omnivorous scavengers, feeding on vegetation, carrion, insects, etc. Geograpsus and the largely beach-restricted Ocypode are voracious carnivores/omnivores [52], [53], [76], [77].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution, Insular Restriction, and Extinction of Oceanic Land Crabs, Exemplified by the Loss of an Endemic Geograpsus in the Hawaiian Islands

Paulay

Starmer

2011

PLoS ONE

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“…Burrows can be as long as 2 m, generally reaching the water table and ending in an enlarged chamber. The crab feeds on a variety of organic materials, mainly plant parts (Grubb 1971, Alexander 1979, Lee 1988. F o r a g i n g and digg!ng r h y t h m s Ca.…”

Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Few studies have dealt with Cardisoma carnifex and Sesarma meinerti, two of the most common African mangrove crabs (C. carnifex in Aldabra: Grubb 1971, Alexander 1979 S. meinerti in Mocambique : Cott 1929; both species in Kenya: Hogue and Bright 1971). The aim of the present paper is to give a preliminary assessment of their ecological role in Kenyan mangroves, particularly their litter consumption and impact on the soil.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding and burrowing ecology of two East African mangrove crabs

1991

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Abstract. The behavior and ecology of two mangrove crabs, Sesarma meinerti De Man, 1887 and Cardisoma carnifex (Herbst, 1794) were investigated at the beginning of the rainy season (October-November 1988) at Mida Creek, Kenya. Both species occupy upper intertidal levels, above mean high-water neap, and completely overlap in their zonation. Each burrow lasts ca. 3 wk, with no significant difference between the species. Both are more active around dusk and dawn and also follow a similar trend in their foraging activity, but differ in that burrowing is mainly diurnal in C. carnifex and nocturnal in S. meinerti. A hierarchy of food preference, established by offering C. carnifex and S. meinerti leaves of five mangrove species, proved similar for both, with Bruguiera gymnorhiza ranking first and Avicennia marina last, but significant only for C. carnifex. A rough estimate of the amount of litter consumed by these two species and of the soil mixed up by their burrowing activity indicates that they play a role of primary importance in the ecology of East African mangroves.

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“…Monkeys, birds, and land crabs are listed as potential predators of hermit crabs [39]. Unlike for our other hypotheses, no experiments or observations were designed to specifically test the predator hypothesis in this investigation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms causing size differences of the land hermit crab Coenobita rugosus among eco-islands in Southern Taiwan

Hsu

Soong

2017

PLoS ONE

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Numerous environmental factors can influence body size. Comparing populations in different ecological contexts is one potential approach to elucidating the most critical of such factors. In the current study, we found that the body size of the land hermit crab Coenobita rugosus was significantly larger on Dongsha Island in the South China Sea than on other eco-islands around Southern Taiwan. We hypothesized that this could be due to differences in (1) shell resources, (2) parasite impact, (3) competition, (4) predation, and (5) food. We found no supporting evidence for the first three hypotheses; the shells used by the hermit crabs on Dongsha were in poorer condition than were those used elsewhere, extremely few individuals in the region had ectoparasites, and the density of hermit crabs varied considerably among localities within each island. However, significantly higher percentages of C. rugosus reached age 3 years on Dongsha than at Siziwan bay in Taiwan. Two growth rate indices inferred from size structures suggested faster growth on Dongsha than at Siziwan. The condition index (i.e., the body mass/shield length ratio of C. rugosus) was also greater on Dongsha than at Siziwan. Therefore, Dongsha hermit crabs seem to have superior diet and growth performance. Seagrass debris accumulation at the shore of Dongsha was considerable, whereas none was observed at Siziwan or on the other islands, where dicot leaves were the dominant food item for the vegetarian hermit crabs. We then experimentally evaluated the possible role of seagrass as food for C. rugosus. The crabs on Dongsha preferred seagrass to dicot leaves, and their growth increment was faster when they fed on seagrass than when they fed on dicot leaves; no such differences were found in the Siziwan hermit crabs. The aforementioned results are compatible with the food hypothesis explaining the size differences among the islands. The predator hypothesis could explain the greater life span but not the other findings. Populations of C. rugosus on islands with seagrass debris piles probably contribute more to the gene pool of the species because higher proportions of these populations could achieve high fecundity. The fate of these terrestrial hermit crabs may rely on the health of underwater seagrass ecosystems that are under threat from global change.

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A preliminary assessment of the rôle of the terrestrial decapod crustaceans in the Aldabran ecosystem

Cited by 35 publications

References 3 publications

Evolution, Insular Restriction, and Extinction of Oceanic Land Crabs, Exemplified by the Loss of an Endemic Geograpsus in the Hawaiian Islands

Evolution, Insular Restriction, and Extinction of Oceanic Land Crabs, Exemplified by the Loss of an Endemic Geograpsus in the Hawaiian Islands

Feeding and burrowing ecology of two East African mangrove crabs

Mechanisms causing size differences of the land hermit crab Coenobita rugosus among eco-islands in Southern Taiwan

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