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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Contrasting activity patterns at high and low tide in two Brazilian fiddler crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae)

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Author(s):
De Grande, Fernando R. [1, 2] ; Colpo, Karine D. [3] ; Queiroga, Henrique [4, 5] ; Cannicci, Stefano [6, 7, 8] ; Costa, Tania M. [1, 2]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho UN, Inst Biociencias, Lab Ecol & Comportamento Anim, Campus Litoral Paulista, BR-11330900 Sao Vicente, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho UN, Inst Biociencias, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Biol Zool, BR-18618689 Botucatu, SP - Brazil
[3] UNLP, CONICET, Inst Limnol Dr Raul A Ringuelet, Boulevar 120 & 60, La Plata, Buenos Aires - Argentina
[4] Univ Aveiro, Dept Biol, Campus Univ Santiago, P-3810193 Aveiro - Portugal
[5] Univ Aveiro, Ctr Environm & Marine Studies CESAM, Campus Univ Santiago, P-3810193 Aveiro - Portugal
[6] Univ Hong Kong, Swire Inst Marine Sci, Pokfulam Rd, Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Peoples R China
[7] Univ Hong Kong, Sch Biol Sci, Pokfulam Rd, Hong Kong, Hong Kong - Peoples R China
[8] Univ Firenze, Dipartimenio Biol, Via Madonna Piano 6, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino - Italy
Total Affiliations: 8
Document type: Journal article
Source: JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY; v. 38, n. 4, p. 407-412, JUL 2018.
Web of Science Citations: 2
Abstract

Fiddler crabs are known as ecosystem engineers as well as important connectors of energy flow between the intertidal zone and the adjacent marine and terrestrial environments, being predated by both marine and terrestrial species. Studies on their activity patterns are critical to understand their overall role in the function of estuarine ecosystems. Recent studies have found that fiddler crabs, which are active at low tide, are the main food item of fishes hunting at high tide in the intertidal zone, suggesting that some species could also be active at high tide. We assessed the activity patterns of two fiddler crabs, Leptuca leptodactyla (Rathbun, 1898) and L. thayeri (Rathbun, 1900) using pitfall traps deployed at different diurnal and tidal conditions at two southeast Brazilian estuaries. Our data shows that L. leptodactyla was mostly active at low tide during both day and night, whereas L. thayeri was active at low and high tide, a behavior uncommonly reported for fiddler crabs. Our results also confirm that some fiddler crabs can have a previously unreported importance as food for aquatic predators. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 10/09763-9 - Behavioural ecology of Ocypodoidea crabs
Grantee:Tânia Marcia Costa
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 16/08687-3 - Hosting of visiting researcher in the area of ecology and phisiology of intertidal organisms - Dr. Stefano Cannicci
Grantee:Tânia Marcia Costa
Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International