Effects of acute temperature change on California moray prey manipulation and transport behavior

Moretto, Wave I.; Stahl, Allegra K; Mehta, Rita S.

doi:10.1016/j.zool.2022.126030

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 47 publications

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“…To assess appetite, we recorded the time it took for each crab to consume its first prey item. Prior studies on other marine ectotherms have also used feeding time as a metric to measure appetite (Hill, 1980;Diluzio et al, 2017;Moretto et al, 2022). Brown box crabs feed only about once per week when held in the laboratory (pers.…”

Section: Feeding Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature-dependent feeding behavior in the brown box crab, Lopholithodes foraminatus

Moretto,

Taylor

2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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IntroductionGrowing fishing pressures and ocean warming are potential concerns for populations of brown box crabs, Lopholithodes foraminatus, at the southern end of their geographic distribution. In Southern California, brown box crabs are thought to occupy a broad depth gradient (intertidal zone - 547 m), which exposes them to temperatures ranging from 8°C - 24°C. This large temperature span presents challenges for these ectothermic animals because the rates of their physiological processes, and ultimately their dietary needs, behavior, and health, vary with temperature. Here we examined how temperature affects the feeding behavior of brown box crabs to better understand their ecology in warmer regions of their distribution.MethodsAdult crabs were exposed to one of three temperature treatments (8°C, 15°C, and 20°C, N=10) for 2 months. Weekly throughout the exposure period, crabs were given two similar-sized prey items of different crushing strength (clam and mussel). Claw pinch force, prey preference, time to consume prey, and number of prey consumed were recorded prior to the start of the experiment and weekly for the duration of the study, with the exception of pinch force, which was recorded bi-weekly. We hypothesized that crabs will have a stronger pinch force at warmer temperatures, prefer prey items that require less breaking force at the coldest temperature, consume prey faster at warmer temperatures, and consume more prey at warmer temperatures.ResultsOur results confirm that pinch force is consistently greater at 15°C compared to 8°C, however, crabs at 8°C consumed more clams (higher strength) while those at 15°C consumed more mussels. Crabs at 8°C also consumed prey items faster than crabs at 15°C but ate a similar number of prey. Furthermore, there was 100% mortality at 20°C within 8 days of exposure, indicating their proximity to lethal limits within Southern California.DiscussionThese results show that brown box crab feeding behavior exhibits temperature thresholds, which may alter their nutritional state, community interactions, and distribution under both short-term and long-term changes in ocean temperature.

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Section: Feeding Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature-dependent feeding behavior in the brown box crab, Lopholithodes foraminatus

Moretto,

Taylor

2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Precaudal Vertebrae in the Postcranial Region of Moray Eels Form Ventral Processes

Usui,

Yamane,

Hanashima

et al. 2024

Journal of Morphology

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Fish vertebrae are primarily morphologically classified into precaudal vertebrae jointed to the ribs and caudal vertebrae with hemal spines, through which the caudal artery and veins pass. Moray eels (family Muraenidae) capture prey by directly biting, combining oral and pharyngeal jaw. During feeding motions, they exhibit various head manipulations, such as neurocranial elevation, ventral flexion, and horizontal shaking, with their postcranial region acting like the neck of amniotes. However, the bone morphology supporting these movements remains unclear. In this study, the vertebral morphologies of the Kidako moray (Gymnothorax kidako), starry moray (Echidna nebulosa), pink‐lipped moray (Echidna rhodochilus), tidepool snake moray (Uropterygius micropterus), and Seychelles moray (Anarchias seychellensis) were investigated using X‐ray computed tomography. These five species exhibited longitudinal ventral processes in the second to approximately 12th precaudal vertebrae with canals for blood vessels, structurally similar to hemal spines. In addition, the morphology of the precaudal vertebrae in three Anguilliformes species closely related to moray eels and two Gasterosteiformes species, including a seahorse that flexes its head ventrally as a feeding motion, was compared with that of moray eels. However, no remarkable ventral processes were observed in their precaudal vertebrae in the postcranial region, suggesting that these structural features in the postcranial vertebrae were preserved in Muraenidae but not necessarily required for the fish to bend its head ventrally. Although the functional significance of the ventral process has yet to be determined, our findings highlight a novel aspect of fish vertebral morphology.

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Prey processing in fishes

Mehta

2024

Encyclopedia of Fish Physiology

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Effects of acute temperature change on California moray prey manipulation and transport behavior

Cited by 7 publications

References 47 publications

Temperature-dependent feeding behavior in the brown box crab, Lopholithodes foraminatus

Temperature-dependent feeding behavior in the brown box crab, Lopholithodes foraminatus

Precaudal Vertebrae in the Postcranial Region of Moray Eels Form Ventral Processes

Prey processing in fishes

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