Recent experience and the shell‐size preference of hermit crabs

1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Hazlett
Keyword(s):  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Size Preference

Shell-size preference of hermit crabs depends on their growth rate

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
SATOSHI WADA ◽  
HIROFUMI OHMORI ◽  
SEIJI GOSHIMA ◽  
SHIGERU NAKAO
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Size Preference

Effects of shell size fit on the efficacy of mate guarding behaviour in male hermit crabs

2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 1203-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Yoshino ◽  
Miho Ozawa ◽  
Seiji Goshima
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Pagurus Filholi ◽  
Size Preference

Males of the hermit crab Pagurus filholi show pre-copulatory mate guarding behaviour to keep a receptive female from other rival males during the breeding season. Guarding males are often replaced by other males via contest competition. Shell size fit and shell species of males effects were investigated to see if their ability to defend females against rivals depends on their shell. Shell size fit and shell species of guarding males were experimentally manipulated and then, the males were allowed to guard a female and interact with rival males of various sizes. Contest outcomes depended on neither the shell size fit nor shell species of the guarding males, and depended on body size ratio between guarding and rival males. When the body size of guarding and rival males was similar, however, guarding males in large fitting shells defended their female mate significantly more often than those in small fitting shells. For Chlorostoma lischkei shells, small males preferred larger shells during the breeding season than after the breeding season. The plasticity in the shell size preference of small males suggests that they compensate for body size disadvantage in mating versus larger rivals and for higher defence ability of female mates versus similar sized rivals.

scholarly journals The energetic costs of living in the surf and impacts on zonation of shells occupied by hermit crabs

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (16) ◽  
pp. jeb222703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermina Alcaraz ◽  
Brenda Toledo ◽  
Luis M. Burciaga
Keyword(s):  
Water Flow ◽  
Wave Action ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Shell Shape ◽  
Energetic Costs ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Conical Shells ◽  
Drag Forces ◽  
Submerged Body

ABSTRACTCrashing waves create a hydrodynamic gradient in which the most challenging effects occur at the wave breaking zone and decrease towards the upper protected tide pools. Hydrodynamic forces depend on the shape of the submerged body; streamlined shapes decrease drag forces compared with bluff or globose bodies. Unlike other animals, hermit crabs can choose their shell shape to cope with the effects of water flow. Hermit crabs occupy larger and heavier shells (conical shape) in wave-exposed sites than those used in protected areas (globose shape). First, we investigated whether a behavioral choice could explain the shells used in sites with different wave action. Then, we experimentally tested whether the shells most frequently used in sites with different wave action reduce the energetic cost of coping with water flow. Metabolic rate was measured using a respirometric system fitted with propellers in opposite walls to generate bidirectional water flow. The choice of shell size when a large array of sizes are available was consistent with the shell size used in different intertidal sites; hermit crabs chose heavier conical shells in water flow conditions than in still water, and the use of heavy conical shells reduced the energetic cost of coping with water motion. In contrast to conical shells, small globose shells imposed lower energy costs of withstanding water flow than large globose shells. The size and type of shells used in different zones of the rocky shore were consistent with an adaptive response to reduce the energetic costs of withstanding wave action.

scholarly journals Shell utilization pattern of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Crustacea, Anomura) in an estuary at São Vicente, State of São Paulo, Brazil

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno S. Sant'Anna ◽  
Cilene M. Zangrande ◽  
Alvaro L. D. Reigada ◽  
Marcelo A. A. Pinheiro
Keyword(s):  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Utilization Pattern ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Stramonita Haemastoma ◽  
Clibanarius Vittatus ◽  
Shield Length

We evaluated the gastropod shell utilization pattern of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802) at Pescadores Beach in São Vicente, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Specimens were collected monthly from May 2001 through April 2003, in the intertidal zone at low tide. The crabs were weighed and their carapace shield length measured. All gastropod shells were identified and had their shell biometric parameters (total length and aperture length) measured (mm) and weighed (g). A total of 2,344 hermit crabs (644 males, 1,594 females, 45 ovigerous females and 61 individuals in intersex), using 13 species of gastropod shells, were collected. Stramonita haemastoma (Linnaeus, 1767), Cymatium parthenopeum (Von Salis, 1793) and Achatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) comprised over 98% of all the shells. Male and intersex crabs were significantly larger than the females. This size difference strongly influenced the shell utilization pattern, principally in A. fulica, which has the largest shell size, that was only used by males and intersexual individuals of C. vittatus. Cymatium parthenopeum was the only shell species that showed a high determinant coefficient in all the biometric correlations evaluated. The high abundance of S. haemastoma shells and a strong correlation between crab size and shell aperture length established by a significant determination coefficient, indicated that C. vittatus uses this species as the principal resource for shell occupation at Pescadores Beach.

Plasticity in shell selection behaviour by the endemic hermit crab Diogenes alias (Anomura, Diogenidae) from the northeastern Arabian Sea, India

Crustaceana ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 1135-1152
Author(s):  
T. Nirmal ◽  
P. M. Nuzaiba ◽  
Alexandre R. Da Silva ◽  
A. Pavan Kumar ◽  
A. Biju Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Volume Weight ◽  
Aperture Width ◽  
Internal Volume ◽  
Species Preferences ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Selection of gastropod shells as shelter by hermit crabs in controlled experiments would provide useful information on the utility of these shells in nature. In this study, shell size and species preferences of Diogenes alias from the northeastern Arabian Sea were quantified by free choice experiments. Males of D. alias, prefer Indothais lacera and Tibia curta, when choice was given; no differences were found for other demographic groups. All hermit crabs occupied larger shells than the shells they occupied in nature. The best correlation was observed between internal volume, weight, and aperture width of the shell with the size of the hermit crab. This pattern has also been reported for other species (i.e., Clibanarius albidigitus, Calcinus tibicen, and C. obscurus). Furthermore, the present study highlights the importance of optimal resources in a scarce environment.

scholarly journals Distracted decision makers: ship noise and predation risk change shell choice in hermit crabs

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1157-1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svenja Tidau ◽  
Mark Briffa
Keyword(s):  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Information Gathering ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Visual Predator ◽  
Predator Cue

Abstract Human-induced rapid environmental change such as noise pollution alters the ability of animals to integrate information cues. Many studies focus on how noise impacts single sensory channels but in reality animals rely on multimodal sources of information. In this study, we investigated the effect of anthropogenic noise and the visual presence of a predator on tactile information gathering during gastropod shell assessment in the European hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus. For hermit crabs, empty gastropod shells are a crucial resource affecting growth, reproduction, and survival. We measured shell assessment behavior and manipulated 1) the shell size (50% or 80% of the optimal), 2) sound condition (ship or ambient), and 3) visual predator cue (absence/presence). Overall we found that crabs were less likely to accept an optimal shell in the presence of ship noise, suggesting that exposure to ship noise disrupted the information gathering ability of the crabs. We also found a significant interaction between noise, predator presence, and shell size on the mean duration for the final decision to accept or reject the optimal shell. Hermit crabs in 50% shells took less time for their final decision when exposed to both ship noise and predator cue while crabs in 80% shells showed shorter decision time only when the predator cue was absent. Our results indicate that anthropogenic noise can interact with predation threat and resource quality to change resource acquisition, suggesting that noise pollution can disrupt behavior in a nonadditive way, by disrupting information use across multiple sensory channels.

Plasticity of shell preference and its antipredatory advantages in the hermit crab Calcinus californiensis

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 321-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsah Arce ◽  
Guillermina Alcaraz
Keyword(s):  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Survival Benefit ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Swimming Crab ◽  
Free Swimming ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Predation Threat ◽  
Natural Predator ◽  
Predator Threat

The preference of the hermit crab Calcinus californiensis Bouvier, 1898 among six shell species and different shell sizes was evaluated in the presence of the swimming crab Arenaeus mexicanus (Gerstaecker, 1856), a natural predator of this species. In a second experiment, the survival benefit of the shell choice made under predation threat was examined by exposing hermit crabs occupying three different shell species (including the most and least preferred shells of two fits) to a free swimming crab predator. The preference for shell species was similar in the absence and presence of the predator threat, although the hermit crabs choose larger shells (loose) when exposed to the predator compared with the ones chosen in its absence. The predatory experiment showed a higher survival chance for the hermit crabs occupying loose shells of the preferred shell species (Cantharus sanguinolentus (Duclos, 1833)). The results of this study show that the hermit crab C. californiensis is able to change their preference for shell size in response to a predation threat and that the change in preference confers survival benefits for hermit crabs. This study is consistent with the assumption that predation is an important selective pressure for intertidal hermit crabs.

Effects of shell size on behavioural consistency and flexibility in hermit crabs

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (7) ◽  
pp. 597-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Briffa ◽  
Anne-Laurence Bibost
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Behavioural Consistency ◽  
Statistical Effect ◽  
Pagurus Bernhardus ◽  
Animal Personalities

Animal personalities are assumed to be present when there are consistent between-individual differences in behaviour, whereas behavioural flexibility occurs when individual responses are continuously adjusted. Where both possibilities have been tested for, individuals may show both behavioural consistency and flexibility. Therefore, to gauge the importance of consistent individual differences in behaviour, it is useful to compare the strength of consistency with that of plasticity in behaviour. Here we investigate startle responses in hermit crabs ( Pagurus bernhardus (L., 1758)) in high- and low-risk situations. We vary the level of risk between situations by manipulating the quality of empty gastropod shells available to the crabs. Comparison of statistical effect size estimates for tests of concordance and difference between situations reveals a strong pattern of consistent between-individual differences in behaviour in comparison to a statistically significant but reactively weak pattern of behavioural flexibility. Although the startle duration varied, on average, in crabs from different sites, this was mainly due to different responses during an in situ phase of the experiment.

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