Morphometrics and estimates of force generation by the chelae of a North American population of the invasive green crab, Carcinus maenas (L.)

Canadian Journal of Zoology

Volumn 81, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 203-215

  Mitchell, S C ^a   Kennedy, S M ^a   Williams, P J ^a   DeMont, M E ^a  

^a ST FRANCIS XAVIER UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ECOSYSTEMS; EXTRAPOLATION; FISHERIES; MORPHOLOGY;

CRABS;

AQUACULTURE;

BIOLOGICAL INVASION; CRAB; MORPHOMETRY; PREDATION; SHELLFISH CULTURE;

GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE;

CARCINUS MAENAS; CHELA; CHRISTIA; CRUSTACEA; DECAPODA (CRUSTACEA); MOLLUSCA; MYA; MYA ARENARIA; PORTUNIDAE;

EID: 0038732479     PISSN: 00084301     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1139/z02-236     Document Type: Article

References (58)

1. Abby-Kalio, N.J., and Warner, G.F. 1984. Effects of two different feeding regimes on the chela closer muscle of the shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.). Mar. Behav. Physiol. 11: 209-218.
2. Abby-Kalio, N.J., and Warner, G.F. 1989. Heterochely and handedness in the shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.) (Crustacea: Brachyura). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 96: 19-26.
3. Alexander, R.McN. 1969. Mechanics of the feeding action of a cyprinid fish. J. Zool. (1965-1984), 159: 1-15.
4. Bevington, P.R. 1969. Data reduction and error analysis for the physical sciences. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.
5. Block, J., and Rebach, S. 1998. Correlates of claw strength in the rock crab Cancer irroratus (Decapoda, Brachyura). Crustaceana, 71: 468-473.
6. Blundon, J.A. 1988. Morphology and muscle stress of chelae of temperate and tropical stone crabs Menippe mercenaria. J. Zool. (Lond.), 215: 663-673.
7. Blundon, J.A., and Kennedy, V.S. 1982. Mechanical and behavioural aspects of blue crab, Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun), predation on Chesapeake Bay bivalves. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 65: 47-65.
8. Boulding, E.G., and LaBarbera, M. 1986. Fatigue damage: repeated loading enables crabs to open larger bivalves. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole, Mass.), 171: 538-547.
9. Brandwood, A. 1985. The effects of environment upon shell construction and strength in the rough periwinkle Littorina rudis Maton (Mollusca: Gastropoda). J. Zool. Ser. A, 206: 551-565.
10. Clayton, D.A. 1990. Crustacean allometric growth: a case for caution. Crustaceana, 58: 270-290.
11. Cohen, A.N., Carlton, J.T, and Fountain, M.C. 1995. Introduction, dispersal and potential impacts of the green crab Carcinus maenas in San Francisco Bay, California. Mar. Biol. (Berl.), 122: 225-237.
12. Crothers, J.H. 1968. The biology of the shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.). 2. The life of the adult crab. Field Stud. 2: 579-614.
13. Ebeling, F.J., Kitching, J.A., Muntz, L., and Taylor, C.M. 1964. The ecology of Lough Ine. XIII. Experimental observations of the destruction of Mytilus edulis and Nucella lapillus by crabs. J. Anim. Ecol. 33: 73-82.
14. Elner, R.W. 1978. The mechanics of predation by the shore crab, Carcinus maenas (L.), on the edible mussel, Mytilus edulis L. Oecologia, 36: 333-344.
15. Elner, R.W. 1980. The influence of temperature, sex and chela size in the foraging strategy of the shore crab, Carcinus maenas (L.). Mar. Behav. Physiol. 7: 15-24.
16. Elner, R.W. 1981. Diet of green crab Carcinus maenas (L.) from Port Hebert, southwestern Nova Scotia. J. Shellfish Res. 1: 89-94.
17. Elner, R.W., and Campbell, A. 1981. Force, function and mechanical advantage in the chelae of the American lobster Homarus americanus (Decapoda: Crustacea). J. Zool. (1965-1984), 193: 269-286.
18. Elner, R.W., and Hughes, R.N. 1978. Energy maximization in the diet of the shore crab, Carcinus maenas. J. Anim. Ecol. 47: 103-116.
19. Freire, J., Sampedro, M.P., and González-Gurriarán, E. 1996. Influence of morphometry and biomechanics on diet selection in three portunid crabs. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 137: 111-121.
20. Gee, J.M., Warwick, R.M., Davey, J.T., and George, C.L. 1985. Field experiments on the role of epibenthic predators in determining prey densities in an estuarine mudflat. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 21: 429-448.
21. Gillis, D.J., MacPherson, J.N., and Rattray, T.T. 2000. The status of green crab (Carcinus maenas) in Prince Edward Island in 1999. Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Prince Edward Island Department of Fisheries and Tourism, Charlottetown, Tech. Rep. No. 225.
22. Glude, J.B. 1955. The effects of temperature and predators on the abundance of the soft shell clam, Mya arenaria, in New England. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 84: 13-26.
23. Grosholz, E.D., and Ruiz, G.M. 1995. Spread and potential impact of the recently introduced European green crab, Carcinus maenas, in central California. Mar. Biol. (Berl.), 122: 239-247.
24. Grosholz, E.D., Ruiz, G.M., Dean, C.A., Shirley, K.A., Maron, J.L., and Connors, P.G. 2000. The impacts of a noninidigenous marine predator in a California Bay. Ecology, 81: 1206-1224.
25. Hadlock, R.P. 1980. Alarm response of the intertidal snail Littorina littorea (L.) to predation by the crab Carcinus maenas (L.). Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole, Mass.), 159: 269-279.
26. Hughes, R.N., and Elner, R.W. 1979. Tactics of a predator, Carcinus maenas, and morphological responses of the prey, Nucella lapillus. J. Anim. Ecol. 48: 65-78.
27. Jamieson, G.S., Grosholz, E.D., Armstrong, D.A., and Elner, R.W. 1998. Potential ecological implications from the introduction of the European green crab, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus), to British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, U.S.A. J. Nat. Hist. 32: 1587-1598.
28. Juanes, F. 1992. Why do decapod crustaceans prefer small-sized molluscan prey? Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 87: 239-249.
29. Juanes, F., and Smith, L.D. 1995. The ecological consequences of limb damage and loss in decapod crustaceans: a review and prospectus. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 193: 197-223.
30. Kaiser, M.J., Hughes, R.N., and Reid, D.G. 1990. Chelal morphometry, prey-size selection and aggressive competition in green and red forms of Carcinus maenas (L.). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 140: 121-134.
31. Katz, S.L., and Gosline, J.M. 1993. Ontogenetic scaling of jump performance in the African desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria). J. Exp. Biol. 177: 81-111.
32. LaBarbera, M. 1989. Analyzing body size as a factor in ecology and evolution. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 20: 97-117.
33. LeCalvez, J.C. 1987. Location of the shore crab Carcinus maenas L., in the food web of a managed estuary ecosystem: the Rance basin (Brittany, France). Invest. Pesq. 51(Suppl. 1): 431-442.
34. Lee, S.Y. 1993. Chela height is an acceptable indicator of chela strength in Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, Brachyura). Crustaceana, 65: 115-116.
35. Lee, S.Y., and Seed, R. 1992. Ecological implications of cheliped size in crabs: some data from Carcinus maenas and Liocarcinus holsatus. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 84: 151-160.
36. Le Roux, P.J., Branch, G.M., and Joska, M.A.P. 1990. On the distribution, diet and possible impact of the invasive European shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.) along the South African coast. S. Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 9: 85-93.
37. Levinton, J.S., and Judge, M.L. 1993. The relationship of closing force to body size for the major claw of Uca pugnax (Decapoda: Ocypodidae). Funct. Ecol. 7: 339-345.
38. MacPhail, J.S., Lord, E.I., and Dickie, L.M. 1955. The green crab - a new clam enemy. Fish Res. Board Can. Progr. Rep. Atl. Coast Stn. No. 63. pp. 3-11.
39. Mariappan, P., Balasundaram, C., and Schmitz, B. 2000. Decapod crustacean chelipeds: an overview. J. Biosci. 25: 301-313.
40. McArdle, B.H. 1988. The structural relationship: regression in biology. Can. J. Zool. 66: 2329-2339.
41. Myers, R.H. 1990. Classical and modern regression with application. 2nd ed. PWS-Kent Publishing Co., Boston.
42. Preston, S.J., Rivie, I.C., Orr, J.F., and Roberts, D. 1996. A comparison of the strengths of gastropod shells with forces generated by potential crab predators. J. Zool. (Lond.), 238: 181-193.
43. Rangeley, R.W., and Thomas, M.L.H. 1987. Predatory behaviour of juvenile shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 108: 191-197.
44. Rebach, S., and Wowor, D. 1997. Latitudinal variation of claw attributes in east coast cancrid crabs. J. Crustacean Biol. 17: 227-235.
45. Ropes, J.W. 1968. The feeding habits of the green crab, Carcinus maenas (L.). Fish. Bull. 67: 183-203.
46. Scherer, B., and Reise, K. 1981. Significant predation on micro- and macrobenthos by the crab Carcinus maenas L. in the Wadden Sea. Kiel. Meeresforsch. 5: 490-500.
47. Schratzberger, M., and Warwick, R.M. 1999. Impact of predation and sediment disturbance by Carcinus maenas (L.) on free-living nematode community structure. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 235: 255-271.
48. Seed, R., and Hughes, R.N. 1995. Criteria for prey size-selection in molluscivorous crabs with contrasting claw morphologies. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 193: 177-195.
49. Seed, R., and Hughes, R.N. 1997. Chelal characteristics and foraging behaviour of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 44: 221-229.
50. Sneddon, L.U., Huntingford, F.A., and Taylor, A.C. 1997. Weapon size versus body size as a predictor of winning in fights between shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 41: 237-242.
51. Stein, R.A. 1976. Sexual dimorphism in crayfish chelae: functional significance linked to reproductive activities. Can. J. Zool. 54: 220-227.
52. Taylor, G.M. 2000. Maximum force production: why are crabs so strong? Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 267: 1475-1480.
53. Taylor, G.M. 2001. The evolution of armament strength: evidence for a constraint on the biting performance of claws of durophagous decapods. Evolution, 55: 550-560.
54. Warner, G.F., and Jones, A.R. 1976. Leverage and muscle type in crab chelae (Crustacea: Brachyura). J. Zool. (1965-1984), 180: 57-68.
55. Warner, G.F., Chapman, D., Hawkeye, N., and Waring, D.G. 1982. Structure and function of the chelae and chela closer muscles of the shore crab Carcinus maenas (Crustacea: Brachyura). J. Zool. (1965-1984), 196: 431-438.
56. Yamada, S.B., and Boulding, E.G. 1998. Claw morphology, prey size selection and foraging efficiency in generalist and specialist shell-breaking crabs. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 220: 191-211.
57. Young, T., Komarow, S., Deegan, L., and Garritt, R. 1999. Population size and summer home range of the green crab, Carcinus maenas, in salt marsh tidal creeks. Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole, Mass.), 197: 297-299.
58. Zar, J.H. 1999. Biostatistical analysis. 4th ed. Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.