Burrow defense behaviors in a sand-bubbler crab: Scopimera globosa, in relation to body size and prior, residence

Citation
M. Takahashi et al., Burrow defense behaviors in a sand-bubbler crab: Scopimera globosa, in relation to body size and prior, residence, J ETHOL, 19(2), 2001, pp. 93-96
Citations number
24
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Animal Sciences
Journal title
JOURNAL OF ETHOLOGY
ISSN journal
0289-0771 → ACNP
Volume
19
Issue
2
Year of publication
2001
Pages
93 - 96
Database
ISI
SICI code
0289-0771(2001)19:2<93:BDBIAS>2.0.ZU;2-D
Abstract
The burrow defense behaviors in a sand-bubbler crab, Scopimera globosa, liv ing on a tidal flat, were experimentally examined. Body size and prior resi dence influenced the results of struggles for the burrows, and large indivi duals or the burrow owners won in most cases when the intruders were not si gnificantly larger than the owners. Most large owners defended their burrow s by directly fighting their opponents. On the other hand, small owners def ended their burrows in three different ways. (1) Owners fought directly aga inst same-sized or smaller intruders. For larger intruders, (2) most owners returned to their burrows when the owner was nearer to the burrow than the intruder (returning behavior), and (3) owners sat motionless when the intr uder was nearer to the burrow than the owner (sitting behavior). Success ra tios of the three types of burrow defense were 38.2%, 88.5%, and 100%, resp ectively, It was considered that sitting behavior of the cryptically colore d S. globosa has evolved because intruders cannot see motionless owners and consequently cannot detect the owner's burrow.