Analysis of the agonistic behaviour and behaviour pattern of Portunus trituberculatus

Abstract

To analyse the agonistic behaviour of Portunus trituberculatus, infrared cameras were used to quantitatively analyse the aggressive behaviour in response to different sex pairings and culture densities and mirror‐image stimulation. The results show that: P. trituberculatus has nine behaviour patterns which were correlated, and the fighting process followed a specific, rather than random, process. All nine behaviour patterns were stimulated in response to different sex pairings and culture densities, but only five patterns were induced by mirror‐image stimulation. The fighting intensity between the males was significantly higher than that between the females and male and female (p < 0.05). The fight intensity in the 8 crabs/m2 density group was significantly higher than the 4 crabs/m2 and 6 crabs/m2 groups (p < 0.05). The fighting experience had a significant impact on the subsequent fight. The probability of the winner winning again was 83.3%, whereas that of the loser winning again was only 25.0%. In the second round of fighting, the fight intensity of the loser was also significantly lower than those of the winner (p < 0.05). Thus, the fighting process of P. trituberculatus follows a certain regularity, and different sex pairings and culture densities have a significant impact on fighting intensity. Fighting experience also has a significant impact on subsequent agonistic behaviour, with a winner–loser effect.

Observation of Agonistic Behavior in Pacific White Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and Transcriptome Analysis

“…Decapod crustaceans exhibit similarities in their behavior patterns. Building on the authors’ previous research on the agonistic behavior of Portunus trituberculatus ( P. trituberculatus ) [ 17 ], this study identifies and characterizes nine specific actions in the agonistic behavior of L. vannamei . Unlike P. trituberculatus , known for its sand-diving behavior and daytime activity, captive shrimps remain active continuously [ 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Traditionally, research on agonistic behavior in shrimp has primarily been conducted under laboratory conditions using methods such as direct visual observation, video recordings with subsequent playback analysis, and video recordings paired with image software analysis in glass aquaria or specially designed translucent tanks [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Concurrently, researchers have applied statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to construct animal behavioral models [ 17 , 19 ].…”

“…Traditionally, research on agonistic behavior in shrimp has primarily been conducted under laboratory conditions using methods such as direct visual observation, video recordings with subsequent playback analysis, and video recordings paired with image software analysis in glass aquaria or specially designed translucent tanks [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Concurrently, researchers have applied statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to construct animal behavioral models [ 17 , 19 ]. Presently, studies investigating the agonistic behavior of L. vannamei primarily focus on environmental factors such as density, feed type, and temperature, in addition to individual characteristics such as sex and body size [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Identification and Characterization of 5-HT Receptor 1 from Scylla paramamosain: The Essential Roles of 5-HT and Its Receptor Gene during Aggressive Behavior in Crab Species

“…The struggle among crabs of the same sex was more intense than that among crabs of the opposite sex, and the struggle among male crabs was more intense than that among female crabs [ 11 , 64 ]. Therefore, we used male × male paired fights.…”

Welfare in Farmed Decapod Crustaceans, With Particular Reference to Penaeus vannamei

“…In this regard, recent studies performed in understanding agonistic behaviours in the cultured swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus) (e.g. Su et al, 2021;Wu et al, 2021) and the interaction between animal behaviour and production practices (e.g. Zhang et al, 2021) highlight the importance to factor behavioural aspects in production systems for decapod species.…”