Larval mortality during export to the sea in the fiddler crab Uca minax

Brodie, Renae J.; Styles, Richard; Borgianini, Stephen A.; Godley, J. Steve; Butler, Khayree

doi:10.1007/s00227-007-0777-y

Cited by 19 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The survival of newly hatched larvae has been linked to peaks in settlement for crabs and fishes (Christy & Stancyk 1982, Robertson et al 1988, Morgan 1990, Tilburg et al 2008, and increased fish predation resulting from weak synchrony could contribute to recruitment limitation in upwelling regimes (Gaines & Roughgarden 1987). The timing of larval release by a diverse array of taxa can be affected by other selective factors (Salmon et al 1986, Anger et al 1994, Morgan 1987b, Brodie et al 2007), but weaker synchrony should still result in reduced reproductive success relative to other regions. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weak synchrony in the timing of larval release in upwelling regimes

Morgan¹,

White²,

McAfee³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intertidal crabs in diverse habitats worldwide release larvae synchronously during nocturnal spring high tides. This expedites seaward transport of the larvae to beyond high density areas of predatory fishes under the cover of darkness. We found that 4 species of intertidal crabs along the west coast of the USA shared this reproductive timing pattern. As in other mixed semidiurnal tidal regimes, biweekly patterns of larval release were more closely synchronized with the tidal amplitude cycle than the lunar cycle, and some crabs released larvae in daylight. However, unlike other places in the world, larval release was weakly synchronized to environmental cycles regardless of interspecific differences in vertical distributions on the shore. We provide evidence that weak synchrony in the timing of larval release in upwelling regimes can result from exposure to environmental variation over long incubation periods of externally brooded embryos. According to the prevailing paradigm, weaker synchrony in the timing of larval release will increase predation by planktivorous fishes in upwelling regimes. Weak synchrony in the timing of larval release should increase larval mortality in a wide array of animals that brood embryos in the intertidal zone, regardless of the selective force operating, and it could contribute to recruitment limitation in upwelling regimes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weak synchrony in the timing of larval release in upwelling regimes

Morgan¹,

White²,

McAfee³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…on the contrary, salinity-induced mortality was not detected in the zoea i of U. minax originating from a freshwater population during their long trip (>50 km, several days) to the sea. these larvae survived longer than those spawned by females from a brackish water population; a physiological acclimation during embryogenesis may explain the observed differences (Brodie et al, 2007). the development of U. tangeri larvae hatched in rio San pedro is likely to occur in Cádiz Bay, and also in the open sea, via larval exportation from parental waters (rodríguez et al, 1997).…”

Section: Larval Tolerance To Low Salinitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…they occur in marine and brackish waters of temperate and tropical regions in the western atlantic (21 species), the eastern pacific (36 species), the indo-West pacific (39 species), and the eastern atlantic (1 species: Uca tangeri). However, adults of at least one species (the western atlantic Uca minax) can live in freshwater habitats as far as 50 km from the sea (Brodie et al 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of salinity on larval development of <em>Uca tangeri</em> (Eydoux, 1835) (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) and new findings of the zoeal morphology

Spivak¹,

Cuesta²

2009

Sci. Mar.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SuMMary: in order to evaluate their tolerance to low salinities, zoeae of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri from the rio San pedro population (southwestern Spain) were reared in the laboratory at 20ºC and at three salinities (16, 24 and 32). the zoeal development was completed at 24 and 32 but the crabs died as zoea i or zoea ii, and very rarely as zoea iii, at 16; tolerance to low salinities varied among clutches produced by different females. the duration of the first zoeal stage and of the complete zoeal development was shorter at 32. our observations showed that the zoeae of U. tangeri could not tolerate retention in the mesohaline water of estuaries, and that export to oceanic waters would be optimal for their successful development. Survival at 24 suggests that larvae could also develop in polyhaline conditions if they were retained in the ocean-estuary interface. the presence of an additional zoeal stage (zoea vi) was observed in some individuals and associated with unfavourable combinations of temperature and salinity. in addition, some previously omitted aspects of zoeal morphology were re-described and illustrated, providing new evidence which supports the basal position of this species in a proto-atlantic origin of the genus Uca. it is proposed that the differences between Uca tangeri and the rest of the Uca species should be highlighted, and that it should be placed in its own genus as Afruca tangeri.Keywords: larval development, salinity, mortality, duration of development, ocypodidae, Uca, fiddler crab, zoeal morphology. rESuMEN: Efecto de la salinidad en el desarrollo larvario de Uca tangeri (Eydoux, 1835) (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) y nuevos hallazgos sobre la morfología de las zoeas. -Se cultivaron zoeas del cangrejo violinista Uca tangeri de la población del río San pedro (Suroeste de España) en el laboratorio a salinidades de 16, 24 y 32, y una temperatura de 20ºC, para evaluar su tolerancia a salinidades bajas. Las larvas completaron el desarrollo como zoeas a 24 y 32 pero murieron como zoea i, como zoea ii o, muy raramente, como zoea iii a 16; la tolerancia a las salinidades bajas varió entre las camadas producidas por diferentes hembras. La duración del primer estado y del desarrollo completo de las zoeas fue más corto a 32. Nuestras observaciones muestran que las zoeas de U. tangeri no tolerarían la retención en las aguas mesohalinas de estuarios y que la exportación hacia aguas oceánicas sería óptima para el éxito de su desarrollo. La supervivencia a 24 sugiere que las larvas también podrían desarrollarse en condiciones polihalinas si fueran retenidas en la interfase océano-estuario. Se observó la presencia de un estadio zoea adicional (zoea vi) en algunos individuos, que se asoció con condiciones desfavorables de temperatura y salinidad. Finalmente, se redescribieron e ilustraron algunos aspectos previamente omitidos de la morfología de las zoeas, que constituyen nuevas evidencias que favorecen la posición basal de esta especies en el origen proto-atlántico del género Uca. Se propone la convenien...

show abstract

“…Early-stage larvae of U. minax cannot survive through even the first larval stage in freshwater found at Yauhannah and Bates Hill [50], even though there are robust populations of adults at these locations. Despite this larval intolerance, the boundary of salt intrusion not a significant structuring mechanism, as freshwater and saltwater locales, when combined, did not demonstrate any significant effect on genetic structure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Limited gene flow in Uca minax (LeConte 1855) along a tidally influenced river system

Staton

Borgianini

Gibson³

et al. 2013

Open Life Sciences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For crab larvae, swimming behaviors coupled with the movement of tides suggests that larvae can normally move upstream within estuaries by avoiding ebb tides and actively swimming during flood tides (i.e., flood-tide transport [FTT]). Recently, a 1-D transport model incorporating larval behavior predicted that opposing forces of river discharge and tidal amplitude in the Pee Dee River/Winyah Bay system of South Carolina, USA, could limit dispersal within a single estuary for downstream transport as well as become a dispersal barrier to recruitment of late stage larvae to the freshwater adult habitats of Uca minax (LeConte 1855). We sequenced 394-bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome apoenzyme b for 226 adult U. minax, from four locales along a 49-km stretch of the Pee Dee River/Winyah Bay estuary, above and below the boundary of salt intrusion. Results of an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and an exact test of population differentiation showed a small, but statistically significant (α=0.05) population subdivision among adults of the 4 subpopulations, as well as all subpopulations being significantly differentiated (α=0.05). This pattern fitted with model predictions, which implies that larval transport within the tidally influenced river system is limited.

show abstract

Larval mortality during export to the sea in the fiddler crab Uca minax

Cited by 19 publications

References 33 publications

Weak synchrony in the timing of larval release in upwelling regimes

Weak synchrony in the timing of larval release in upwelling regimes

The effect of salinity on larval development of <em>Uca tangeri</em> (Eydoux, 1835) (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) and new findings of the zoeal morphology

Limited gene flow in Uca minax (LeConte 1855) along a tidally influenced river system

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About