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Habitat Location and Selection by the Sargassum Crab Portunus Sayi: the Role of Sensory Cues

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Habitat Location and Selection by the Sargassum Crab Portunus Sayi: the Role of Sensory Cues HABITAT LOCATION AND SELECTION BY THE SARGASSUM CRAB PORTUNUS SAYI: THE ROLE OF SENSORY CUES by Lorin E. West A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Charles E. Schmidt College of Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida August 2012 Copyright by Lorin E. West 2012 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Randy Brooks for his guidance and supervision throughout my graduate career and for his time spent sacrificing his boat, which made collecting samples in the field possible. Special thanks go to Dr. Brian Lapointe for taking me under his wing as if I were one of his own graduate students and for providing me with amazing research opportunities. I would also like to thank the rest of my committee members, Dr. Tamara Frank and Dr. Dennis Hanisak, for agreeing to be on my committee despite their busy schedules and for their direction throughout the development of my thesis. Thanks to my labmates, Chelsea Bennice and Ed Davis, for their help with sampling and making late hours in the lab much more tolerable. iv ABSTRACT Author: Lorin E. West Title: Habitat Location and Selection by the Sargassum Crab Portunus sayi: The Role of Sensory Cues Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. W. Randy Brooks Degree: Master of Science Year: 2012 The Sargassum community consists of a unique and diverse assemblage of fauna critical to pelagic food chains. Associated organisms presumably have adaptations to assist in finding Sargassum. This study investigated cues used for habitat location and selection by the Sargassum crab, Portunus sayi. Chemical detection trials were conducted with a two-chamber choice apparatus with Sargassum spp. and Thalassia testudinum as source odors. Visual detection trials (devoid of chemical cues) and habitat selection trials were conducted in which crabs were given a choice between habitats. Results showed that P. sayi responded to chemical odors from Sargassum spp. Crabs visually located habitats but did not visually distinguish between different habitats. In habitat selection trials, crabs selected Sargassum spp. over artificial Sargassum and T. testudinum. These results suggest that crabs isolated from Sargassum likely use chemoreception from longer distances; within visual proximity of a potential patch, crabs use both chemical and visual information. v HABITAT LOCATION AND SELECTION BY THE SARGASSUM CRAB PORTUNUS SAYI: THE ROLE OF SENSORY CUES List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chemoreception in decapods ........................................................................................ 4 Visual reception in decapods ........................................................................................ 6 Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 8 Methods............................................................................................................................... 9 Collection and maintenance of specimens .................................................................... 9 Chemoreception experiments ...................................................................................... 10 Visual reception experiments ...................................................................................... 12 Habitat selection experiments ..................................................................................... 13 Statistical analysis ....................................................................................................... 14 Results ............................................................................................................................... 15 Chemoreception experiments ...................................................................................... 15 Visual reception experiments ...................................................................................... 15 Habitat selection experiments ..................................................................................... 16 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 18 Chemoreception experiments ...................................................................................... 18 Visual reception experiments ...................................................................................... 20 vi Habitat selection experiments ..................................................................................... 21 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 23 Appendixes ....................................................................................................................... 25 References ......................................................................................................................... 39 vii TABLES Table 1. Fisher’s Exact and logistic regression results for chemoreception trials. ........... 25 Table 2. Binomial test results for visual reception trials .................................................. 26 Table 3. Fisher’s Exact and logistic regression results for visual reception trials ............ 27 Table 4. Fisher’s Exact and logistic regression results for visual reception controls ....... 28 Table 5. Fisher’s Exact and logistic regression results for habitat selection trials ........... 29 Table 6. Fisher’s Exact and logistic regression results for habitat selection controls ...... 30 viii FIGURES Figure 1. Chemoreception experimental apparatus .......................................................... 31 Figure 2. Visual reception diagram ................................................................................... 32 Figure 3. Habitat selection diagram. ................................................................................. 33 Figure 4. Chemoreception graph ....................................................................................... 34 Figure 5. Visual reception graph ....................................................................................... 35 Figure 6. Visual reception control graph .......................................................................... 36 Figure 7. Habitat selection graph ...................................................................................... 37 Figure 8. Habitat selection control graph .......................................................................... 38 ix INTRODUCTION Pelagic Sargassum is a brown alga characterized by numerous blades, a highly branched thallus, and air bladders called pneumatocysts, which creates a unique floating habitat common throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico (Parr, 1939). Most of these pelagic mats are comprised of two species, Sargassum fluitans Børgesen and Sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Gaillon (Parr, 1939). The distribution of both species of Sargassum is highly variable in space and time, and influenced by currents, gyres (such as the North Atlantic Central Gyre), eddies, and winds (Wells and Rooker, 2004). These Sargassum communities, or “weedlines,” accumulate at the surface as a result of windrows from Langmuir circulation (Ryther, 1956) and support a diverse assemblage of invertebrates, fish, sea turtles, pelagic birds, and marine mammals (Butler et al. 1983; Casazza and Ross, 2008). Habitat utilization begins with early colonizers such as bacteria, hydroids, and bryozoans that start ecological succession to provide the base of the Sargassum community food chain (Dooley 1972). There are approximately 100 species of sessile and motile invertebrates within this community, of which many are endemic (Butler et al. 1983). One of the major groups of invertebrates within Sargassum is decapod crustaceans (Butler et al., 1983). Specifically, the Sargassum crab, Portunus sayi, is one of the most frequently observed associates within Sargassum mats. Like many of these 1 endemic invertebrates, P. sayi has adapted to life within the Sargassum community and displays coloration patterns mimicking the appearance of Sargassum stipes and blades for camouflage (Dooley, 1972). Sargassum and the array of invertebrates in this community serve as shelter and prey for more than 100 fish species (Wells and Rooker, 2004; Casazza and Ross, 2008). These species of fish range from obligatory, like the endemic Sargassum fish (Histrio histrio) and the Sargassum pipefish (Sygnathus pelagicus) with morphological adaptations for life in Sargassum, to facultative relationships (Wells and Rooker, 2004). For pelagic fish species, many of which are commercially and recreationally important (e.g., dolphinfish, tuna, ballyhoo, jacks, sailfish, swordfish, and marlin), Sargassum mats serve as a nursery for juvenile fish (Dooley, 1972; Costen-Clements, 1991; Wells and Rooker, 2004; Rudershausen et al., 2010). As a result, Sargassum mats are designated as Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (NOAA, 1996). Sargassum
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