Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab
Male fiddler crabs compete for access to mates mainly by displaying an enlarged claw. One cost of this large claw is presumed to be higher exposure to predators. The fiddler crab Uca uruguayensis is used as a food source by several Neotropical migratory shorebirds. We investigated whether crab densi...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-102 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-102 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z03-102 2023-12-17T10:26:52+01:00 Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab Ribeiro, Pablo D Iribarne, Oscar O Jaureguy, Luciano Navarro, Diego Bogazzi, Eugenia 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-102 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-102 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 81, issue 7, page 1209-1221 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2003 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z03-102 2023-11-19T13:39:39Z Male fiddler crabs compete for access to mates mainly by displaying an enlarged claw. One cost of this large claw is presumed to be higher exposure to predators. The fiddler crab Uca uruguayensis is used as a food source by several Neotropical migratory shorebirds. We investigated whether crab density and male claw-waving behaviour increase predation by shorebirds. The sex ratio of crabs on the surface was strongly male biased. Male crabs showed a daily succession of feedingwavingfeeding activities and their dry mass at the site decreased with a high density of crabs, suggesting stronger malemale competition than at sites with a low density of crabs. Sex-specific predation varied according to shorebird species. The Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) preyed intensively on male crabs when they were courting and at sites with a high density of crabs, the Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) and the Lesser Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) preyed on crabs of both sexes, and the Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) foraged intensively on females. When estimating the net effect of all predators, we found that the four shorebird species together were able to consume between 0.1 and 0.2% of the crab population, and consumption did not differ between the sexes of crabs. These mortality rates indicate a low source of mortality, likely unable to produce deviations in the sex ratio of the population. Thus, our results indicate that a trait thought to be sexually selected does not necessarily lead to a disproportionate increase in mortality due to predation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arenaria interpres Numenius phaeopus Ruddy Turnstone Whimbrel Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canadian Journal of Zoology 81 7 1209 1221 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Ribeiro, Pablo D Iribarne, Oscar O Jaureguy, Luciano Navarro, Diego Bogazzi, Eugenia Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Male fiddler crabs compete for access to mates mainly by displaying an enlarged claw. One cost of this large claw is presumed to be higher exposure to predators. The fiddler crab Uca uruguayensis is used as a food source by several Neotropical migratory shorebirds. We investigated whether crab density and male claw-waving behaviour increase predation by shorebirds. The sex ratio of crabs on the surface was strongly male biased. Male crabs showed a daily succession of feedingwavingfeeding activities and their dry mass at the site decreased with a high density of crabs, suggesting stronger malemale competition than at sites with a low density of crabs. Sex-specific predation varied according to shorebird species. The Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) preyed intensively on male crabs when they were courting and at sites with a high density of crabs, the Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) and the Lesser Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) preyed on crabs of both sexes, and the Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) foraged intensively on females. When estimating the net effect of all predators, we found that the four shorebird species together were able to consume between 0.1 and 0.2% of the crab population, and consumption did not differ between the sexes of crabs. These mortality rates indicate a low source of mortality, likely unable to produce deviations in the sex ratio of the population. Thus, our results indicate that a trait thought to be sexually selected does not necessarily lead to a disproportionate increase in mortality due to predation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ribeiro, Pablo D Iribarne, Oscar O Jaureguy, Luciano Navarro, Diego Bogazzi, Eugenia |
author_facet |
Ribeiro, Pablo D Iribarne, Oscar O Jaureguy, Luciano Navarro, Diego Bogazzi, Eugenia |
author_sort |
Ribeiro, Pablo D |
title |
Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab |
title_short |
Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab |
title_full |
Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab |
title_fullStr |
Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab |
title_full_unstemmed |
Variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab |
title_sort |
variable sex-specific mortality due to shorebird predation on a fiddler crab |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-102 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-102 |
genre |
Arenaria interpres Numenius phaeopus Ruddy Turnstone Whimbrel |
genre_facet |
Arenaria interpres Numenius phaeopus Ruddy Turnstone Whimbrel |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 81, issue 7, page 1209-1221 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z03-102 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
81 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1209 |
op_container_end_page |
1221 |
_version_ |
1785578615214178304 |