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Host selection, chemical detection, and protection of the symbiotic pinnotherid crabs Dissodactylus crinitichelis and Clypeasterophilus rugatus associated with echinoderms
| Title: | Host selection, chemical detection, and protection of the symbiotic pinnotherid crabs Dissodactylus crinitichelis and Clypeasterophilus rugatus associated with echinoderms. |
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| Name(s): |
Reeves, Misty N. Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor Brooks, W. Randy, Thesis advisor |
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| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Genre: | Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation | |
| Issuance: | monographic | |
| Date Issued: | 2000 | |
| Publisher: | Florida Atlantic University | |
| Place of Publication: | Boca Raton, Fla. | |
| Physical Form: | application/pdf | |
| Extent: | 40 p. | |
| Language(s): | English | |
| Summary: | Host selection by Dissodactylus crinitichelis and Clypeasterophilus rugatus for different echinoderms was investigated. Initial preference (within 24 h of collection) and preference after "conditioning" with an alternate host were compared. D. crinitichelis initially preferred its field host, the sand dollar Encope michelini, but after conditioning switched its host preference to a non-field host, the sea biscuit Clypeaster rosaceus. This switch in host preference after conditioning occurred despite consumption of numerous crabs (86 out of 167) by C. rosaceus. Clypeasterophilus rugatus initially preferred its field host, the sea biscuit Clypeaster rosaceus, but showed little change in host preference after conditioning. These results indicate significant behavioral differences in these closely related crabs in their association with echinoderms. Chemical detection by the crabs was investigated, and no significant use of chemical cues by adults or juveniles of either species was found, even though chemical responses have been observed in other closely related pinnotherid crabs. Using the checkered pufferfish, Sphoeroides testudineus, as a predator, the possibility that crabs may receive protection by living with echinoderms was also examined. Crabs with echinoderms survived significantly longer than crabs without echinoderms, which is the first direct evidence that these crabs are protected by associating with echinoderms. | |
| Identifier: | 9780599813885 (isbn), 12697 (digitool), FADT12697 (IID), fau:9579 (fedora) | |
| Note(s): |
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2000. |
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| Subject(s): |
Pinnotheridae Echinodermata Crabs--Behavior |
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| Held by: | Florida Atlantic University Libraries | |
| Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12697 | |
| Sublocation: | Digital Library | |
| Use and Reproduction: | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder. | |
| Use and Reproduction: | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | |
| Host Institution: | FAU | |
| Is Part of Series: | Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections. |
