Comparisons of Social Structure of Columbus Crabs Living on Loggerhead Sea Turtles and Inanimate Flotsam
- 1 February 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
- Vol. 77 (1), 185-194
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400033865
Abstract
Columbus crabs, Planes minutus (Crustacea: Brachyura) live in the open ocean attached to floating substrata including Sargassum, flotsam, and sea turtles. Eighty-two percent of 128 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) checked, harboured a total of 172 crabs. Crabs inhabiting flotsam occurred in mixed sex groups of adults and juveniles, with a mean group size of 8.2 ±;11.8 (N=17). In contrast, crabs living on sea turtles around Madeira occur in smaller groups 1.6 ±0.5 (N=105) which are typically adult heterosexual pairs (61 out of 105). Crabs on turtles were bigger than on flotsam and a higher proportion of female crabs were brooding eggs. Columbus crabs exhibit different life history strategies depending on the substratum they inhabit.Keywords
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