Population Structure and Morphometric Variation in the Sand-Bubbler Crab Scopimera Crabricauda (Brachyura: Dotillidae)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Animal Biology 67 (2017) 319–330 brill.com/ab Population structure and morphometric variation in the sand-bubbler crab Scopimera crabricauda (Brachyura: Dotillidae) Sana Sharifian1, Vahid Malekzadeh2, Ehsan Kamrani2,∗ and Mohsen Safaie2 1 Department of Marine Biology, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran 2 Fishery Department, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran Submitted: September 2, 2017. Final revision received: November 4, 2017. Accepted: November 8, 2017 Abstract In the present study, population ecology and relationships between various morphometric characters of the sand-bubbler crab Scopimera crabricauda from the Persian Gulf (Iran) were studied. Crabs were collected monthly by excavating nine quadrats in high-density areas of open burrows at low, mid and high intertidal levels during spring low tides for one year. A total of 534 crabs was collected, of which 70% were males (and 30% females). Mean carapace width and total weight in both sexes showed significant differences. Crabs with a carapace width ranging from 5 to 7 mm were the dominant crabs in the population. The highest numbers of crabs were found in the higher intertidal area. The mean size of crabs decreased towards the sea. The aggregation of small crabs was found towards sea in female crabs. Juveniles were abundantly found from January to March whereas the sub-adults and adults were mostly found from April to January. The carapace length to carapace width relationship differed between males and females, as did the carapace width and carapace length to total weight relationships. Finally, the relationship between carapace width and weight for both sexes showed that the growth of this species is allometric. Keywords Bandar Abbas; dotillid crabs; growth; isospatial; population ecology; sandy shores; tidal zone Introduction Dotillid crabs are common dwellers of tropical sandy and muddy shores, mangrove swamps (Hartnoll, 1973), estuaries and backwaters of tropical and subtropical re- gions (Kemp, 1919). Dotillid crabs include several genera of very small crabs such ∗ ) Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected] © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2017 DOI 10.1163/15707563-00002539 Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 06:49:55AM via free access 320 S. Sharifian et al. / Animal Biology 67 (2017) 319–330 as Dotilla and Scopimera, which have the greatest number of species. The crab Scopimera crabricauda is a deposit feeder, active diurnally, at low tide, and inhab- its restricted and sandy estuarine areas. Their range extends further east than that of Dotilla crabs (Barnard, 1950; Serene & Moosa, 1981). Dotillid crabs produce pseudofaecal pellets while feeding at low tide and are generally restricted to muddy shores; however, some genera, including Dotilla and Scopimera, prefer a sandy en- vironment. Moreover, crabs including D. fenestrate subsist in mangrove swamps (Macnae, 1968). Sandy shores may be a favorable environment for crabs of the genus Scopimera, a deposit-feeding organism, since habitats suitable for their for- aging are the ones that enable them to sort sand with high efficiency and extract the small amount of organic material (Tweedie, 1950; Ono, 1965). These crabs have gained the ability to inhabit the intertidal zone by various morphological, physi- ological, and behavioral adaptations (Gherardi & Russo, 2001). They can display an isospatial strategy, which means they alternate their location between exposure to air and water while remaining within a belt along the sea-land axis (Vannini & Chelazzi, 1985). In crustaceans, as growth progresses, certain dimensions of the animal’s body may grow much more than others, resulting in a phenomenon known as allome- try (Hartnoll, 1974). Crabs, as most free-living crustaceans, are ideal subjects for morphometric studies because of the ease with which fast and precise measure- ments can be made on their hard exoskeleton (Ledesma et al., 2010). In population studies, morphometric analysis provides a powerful complement to genetic and environmental stock identification approaches (Cadrin, 2000) and length-weight re- lationships allow the conversion of growth-in-length equations to growth-in-weight for use in a stock assessment model (Moutopoulos & Stergiou, 2002). It can be useful to convert to length (width), when only the weight is known and the length- weight regression may be extensively used to estimate length from weight (Sangun et al., 2009; Oluwatoyin et al., 2013). Knowledge of these characters and size relationships has a particular impor- tance in the study of crustaceans that play an important rle in an ecosystem. The length/width-weight relationship is expected to be a suitable tool for evaluating crustacean populations (Gorce et al., 2006; Fumis et al., 2007; Sangun et al., 2009, Josileen, 2011; Sahoo et al., 2011; Oluwatoyin et al., 2013; Safaie et al., 2013; Shar- ifian & Kamrani, 2015). Information about the individual body weight-length/width relationship in populations is important for estimating the population size of a stock. Hence, the study of the length-weight relationship in aquatic animals has been widely used in delineating the growth patterns during their developmental pathways (Bagenal, 1978). To date, few studies have been performed of the population structure of crabs of the genus Scopimera (Fielder, 1970; Yamaguchi & Tanaka, 1974; Wada, 1981; Clayton & Al-Kindi, 1998). Most studies have been performed on distribution (Silas & Sankarankutty, 1967; Fielder, 1971; Wada, 1976; Wada, 1983a, b), feeding (Fielder, 1970; Zimmer-Faust, 1987), mating (Yamaguchi et al., 1979; Koga et al., Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 06:49:55AM via free access S. Sharifian et al. / Animal Biology 67 (2017) 319–330 321 Figure 1. Sampling locations at southern Golshahr, Bandar Abbas, Iran, on the Persian Gulf for the species Scopimera crabricauda Alcook, 1900 from January 2016 to January 2017. 1993), breeding biology (Yamaguchi & Tanaka, 1974; Wada, 1981; Suzuki, 1983; Henmi & Kaneto, 1989), and various aspects of their ecology (Takahasi, 1935; Harada & Kawanabe, 1955; Ono, 1965; Fielder, 1970). Some population aspects of S. crabricauda were studied in an estuarine habitat in Oman (Clayton & Al-Kindi, 1998). In the present study, we investigated the population structure and the relationships between various morphometric characters (carapace width/length and body weight) of S. crabricauda from the sandy shores of the Persian Gulf. This knowledge can be useful in studies of resource management. Material and methods The sampling area was the sandy shores of the Persian Gulf at southern Golshahr, Bandar Abbas, Iran (27°11N 56°20E; Fig. 1). The climate of this area is tropical and the annual water temperature varies from 25 to 35°C. Samples were taken monthly from January 2016 to January 2017. The sampling was performed by excavating nine quadrats (100 × 100 × 20 cm deep; three for each intertidal level) in high-density areas of open burrows, and collecting the crabs after sieving the sand (Hails & Aziz, 1982) at three intertidal levels - low, mid and high - during spring low tides. At the sampling site, crabs were sexed and counted for each intertidal level. The carapace width (CW) and carapace length (CL) were measured using a Vernier caliper (± 0.01 mm accuracy), with terminology based on Ng (1988). The total body weight (TW) was measured using a standard electric balance with 0.1mg accuracy. Then, the crabs were released back into the field. Indi- viduals (both male and female) smaller than the smallest captured ovigerous female Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 06:49:55AM via free access 322 S. Sharifian et al. / Animal Biology 67 (2017) 319–330 were classified as juveniles. Recruitment was assessed by calculating the propor- tion of juveniles in the samples. The overall size and weight frequency distributions were tested for normality using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (Lilliefors) (D)test(Zar, 1999). The overall size and weight frequencies showed normal and non-normal distributions, and subsequently were subjected to parametric and non-parametric methods, respectively. The mean size of males and females was compared using the independent-samples (Student’s) t-test. The mean weight of males and females was compared using the two-independent-samples test (Mann-Whitney U). The mean size of both sexes during the different months and at the three intertidal levels was tested using a one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test and F statistic. The mean weight of both sexes during the different months and at the three inter- tidal levels was tested using a non-parametric test followed by the Kruskal-Wallis test and chi-square (χ 2). Mean ± standard error is presented throughout the text. The CW to CL relationship was estimated in each sex, using the linear equation y = a + bx and the correlation coefficient (R2), where y is the carapace width in mm, x is the carapace length in mm, and a and b are constants. The CW to TW and CL to TW relationships were estimated according to the formula W = aLb (Pauly, 1983) and the correlation coefficient (R2), where W is the total weight in mg, L is the length or width of the carapace in mm, a is the intercept (condition factor) and b is the slope (growth coefficient). If the value b is equal or close to 3, the growth of species is isometric, but if it is substantially different from 3, then growth is allometric. This formula is known as the allometric formula and b is also known as the allometric coefficient (Cadima, 2003). A linear equation (log TW = log a + b log CW) was fitted to data transformed to a logarithmic scale. Deviation of the estimated value b from the isometric value 3 was tested using the t-test: sd(CW) b − 3 √ t = × √ × n − 2 sd(TW) 1 − r2 where sd(CW) is the standard deviation of values of log CW, sd(TW) the standard deviation of values of log TW, and n is the number of crabs used. The value b will be different from 3 if t is greater than the table value of t for n − 2df (Pauly, 1983).