Aseasonality in the abundance and life history of an ecologically dominant freshwater crab in the Rift Valley, Kenya

Freshwater Biology

Volumn 52, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 215-225

  Dobson, Michael ^a,b   Magana, Adiel M ^c   Lancaster, Jill ^d   Mathooko, Jude M ^c  

^a FRESHWATER BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION   (United Kingdom)

^b MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^c EGERTON UNIVERSITY   (Kenya)

^d UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Africa; Decapoda; Life history; Lotic crabs; Potamonautidae; Tropical streams

Indexed keywords

ABUNDANCE; BIOMASS; CRAB; HEADWATER; LIFE HISTORY; LOTIC ENVIRONMENT; POPULATION DENSITY; POPULATION SIZE; POPULATION STRUCTURE; REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGY; SEASONALITY; SIZE DISTRIBUTION; STREAM;

AFRICA; EAST AFRICA; KENYA; RIFT VALLEY; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA;

DECAPODA (CRUSTACEA); POTAMONAUTES; POTAMONAUTIDAE;

EID: 33846225172     PISSN: 00465070     EISSN: 13652427     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2006.01648.x     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Abdallah A.H., de Mazancourt C., Elinge M.M. et al. (2004) Comparative studies on the structure of an upland African stream ecosystem. Freshwater Forum, 21, 27-47.
2. Araki A. & Matsuura S. (1995) Growth of a freshwater crab, Geothelphusa dehaani (White). Science Bulletin of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 49, 125-132.
3. Arkell J.B.F. (1979) Aspects of the feeding and breeding biology of the giant kingfisher. Ostrich, 50, 176-181.
4. Benke A.C., van Arsdall T.C., Gillespie D.M. & Parrish F.K. (1984) Invertebrate productivity in a subtropical blackwater river: the importance of habitat and life history. Ecological Monographs, 54, 25-63.
5. Benzie J.A.H. & de Silva P.K. (1988) The distribution and ecology of the freshwater prawn Caridina singhalensis (Decapoda, Atyidae) endemic to Sri Lanka. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 4, 347-359.
6. Butler J.R.A. & Marshall B.E. (1996) Resource use within the crab eating guild of the upper Kairezi River, Zimbabwe. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 12, 475-490.
7. Butler J.R.A. & du Toit J.T. (1994) Diet and conservation status of Cape clawless otters in eastern Zimbabwe. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 24, 41-47.
8. Chadwick M.A. & Huryn A.D. (2005) Response of stream macroinvertebrate production to atmospheric nitrogen deposition and channel drying. Limnology and Oceanography, 50, 228-236.
9. Chen T., Lai W. & Du N. (1994) Growth, reproduction and population structure of the freshwater crab Sinopotamon yangtsekiense Bott, 1967, from Zhejiang, China. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 12, 84-90.
10. Chesson P. (2000) Mechanisms of maintenance of species diversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 31, 343-366.
11. Collins P.A., Giri F. & Williner V. (2006) Population dynamics of Trichodactylus borellianus (Crustacea Decapoda Brachyura) and interactions with the aquatic vegetation of the Paraná River (South America, Argentina). Annales de Limnologie, 42, 19-25.
12. Crowl T.A., McDowell W.H., Covich A.P. & Johnson S.L. (2001) Freshwater shrimp effects on detrital processing and nutrients in a tropical headwater stream. Ecology, 82, 775-783.
13. Cumberlidge N. (1999) The Freshwater Crabs of West Africa, Family Potamonautidae. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales no. 36, Paris.
14. Dangles O. & Malmqvist B. (2004) Species richness-decomposition relationships depend on species dominance. Ecology Letters, 7, 395-402.
15. Darwall W., Smith K., Lowe T. & Vié J.-C. (2005) The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Eastern Africa. IUCN SSC Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme. Viii+36 pp. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K.
16. Dayakar Y. & Ramana Rao K.V. (1992) Breeding periodicity of the paddy field crab Oziotelphusa senex senex (Fabricius) (Decapoda: Brachyura), a field study. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 12, 655-660.
17. De Souza M.L. & Moulton T.P. (2005) The effects of shrimps on benthic material in a Brazilian island stream. Freshwater Biology, 50, 592-602.
18. Disney R.H.L. (1971) Notes on Simulium ovazzae Grenier & Mouchet (Diptera: Simuliidae) and river crabs (Malacostraca: Potamidae) and their association. Journal of Natural History, 5, 677-689.
19. Dobson M. (2004) Freshwater crabs in Africa. Freshwater Forum, 21, 3-26.
20. Dobson M., Magana A.M., Mathooko J.M. & Ndegwa F.K. (in press) Distribution and abundance of freshwater crabs (Potamonautes spp.) in rivers draining Mt Kenya, East Africa. Archiv für Hydrobiologie.
21. Dudgeon D. (1999) Tropical Asian Streams. Zoobenthos, Ecology and Conservation. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong.
22. Gherardi F., Tarducci F. & Micheli F. (1989) Energy maximisation and foraging strategies in Potamon fluviatile (Decapoda, Brachyura). Freshwater Biology, 22, 233-245.
23. Hall R.O., Likens G.E. & Malcolm H.E. (2001) Trophic basis of invertebrate production in 2 forest streams at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 20, 432-447.
24. Hancock M.A. & Bunn S.E. (1997) Population dynamics and life history of Paratya australiensis Kemp, 1917 (Decapoda: Atyidae) in upland rainforest streams, south-eastern Queensland, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 48, 361-369.
25. Hart R.C. (1981) Population dynamics and production of the tropical freshwater shrimp Caridina nilotica (Decapoda: Atyidae) in the littoral of Lake Sibaya. Freshwater Biology, 11, 531-547.
26. Hill M.P. & O'Keeffe J.H. (1992) Some aspects of the ecology of the freshwater crab (Potamonautes perlatus Milne Edwards) in the upper reaches of the Buffalo River, eastern Cape Province, South Africa. South African Journal of Aquatic Sciences, 18, 42-50.
27. Johnston K. & Robson B.J. (2005) Habitat use by the hymensomatid crab Amarinus lacustris (Chilton) in two south-eastern Australian rivers. Marine and Freshwater Research, 56, 37-44.
28. King J.M. (1983) Abundance, biomass and density of benthic macro-invertebrates in a western Cape River, South Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 45, 11-34.
29. Kino H. (1990) Comparison of sampling methods for estimating population structure of the freshwater crab, Geothelphusa dehaani, and infection levels with lung flukes. Japanese Journal of Parasitology, 39, 603-611.
30. Liu H.-C. & Li C.-W. (2000) Reproduction in the freshwater crab Candidiopotamon rathbunae (Brachyura: Potamidae) in Taiwan. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 20, 89-99.
31. Lytle D.A. (2001) Disturbance regimes and life-history evolution. American Naturalist, 157, 525-536.
32. Mantel S.K. & Dudgeon D. (2004) Growth and production of a tropical predatory shrimp, Macrobrachium hainanense (Palaemonidae), in two Hong Kong streams. Freshwater Biology, 49, 1320-1336.
33. March J.G., Benstead J.P., Pringle C.M. & Ruebel M.W. (2001) Linking shrimp assemblages with rates of detrital processing along an elevational gradient in a tropical stream. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 58, 470-478.
34. Micheli F., Gherardi F. & Vannini M. (1990) Growth and reproduction in the freshwater crab Potamon fluviatile (Decapoda, Brachyura). Freshwater Biology, 23, 491-504.
35. Moss B. (2005) Rapid shredding of leaves by crabs in a tropical African stream. Verhandlungen der Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie, 29, 147-150.
36. Ogada M.O. (2006) Effects of the Louisiana Crayfish Invasion and Other Human Impacts on the African Clawless otter in the Ewaso Ng'iro Ecosystem. PhD Thesis, Kenyatta University, Kenya.
37. Okano T., Suzuki H. & Miura T. (2000) Comparative biology of two Japanese freshwater crabs Geothelphusa exigua and G. dehaani (Decapoda, Brachyura, Potamidae). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 20, 299-308.
38. Pillai C.K. & Subramoniam T. (1984) Monsoon-dependent breeding in the field crab Paratelphusa hydrodromous (Herbst). Hydrobiologia, 119, 7-14.
39. Purves M.G., Kruuk H. & Nel J.A.J. (1994) Crabs Potamonautes perlatus in the diet of otter Aonyx capensis and water mongoose Atilax paludinosus in a freshwater habitat in South Africa. Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, 59, 332-341.
40. Smith M.D. & Knapp A.K. (2003) Dominant species maintain ecosystem function with non-random species loss. Ecology Letters, 6, 509-517.
41. Somers M.J. & Nel J.A.J. (1998) Dominance and population structure of freshwater crabs (Potamonautes perlatus Milne Edwards). South African Journal of Zoology, 33, 31-36.
42. Sternberg R.V. & Cumberlidge N. (2001) Notes on the position of the true freshwater crabs within the brachyrhynchan Eubrachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura). Hydrobiologia, 449, 21-39.
43. Sweeney B.W. (1984) Factors influencing life-history patterns of aquatic insects. In: The Ecology of Aquatic Insects (Eds V.H. Resh & D.M. Rosenberg), pp. 56-100. Praeger, U.S.A.
44. Turnbull-Kemp P.S.J. (1960) Quantitative estimations of populations of the river crab Potamon (Potamonautes) perlatus (M. Edw.), in Rhodesian trout streams. Nature, 185, 481.
45. Williams T.R. (1965) The diet of freshwater crabs associated with Simulium neavei in East Africa. III. The diet of Potamonautes niloticus and of an unidentified crab species from Mount Elgon, Uganda. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 59, 47-50.
46. Williams T.R., Hynes H.B.N. & Kershaw W.E. (1964) Freshwater crabs and Simulium neavei in East Africa. II. Further observations made during a second visit to East Africa in February-April 1962 (the dry season). Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 58, 159-167.
47. Yam R.S.W. & Dudgeon D. (2005) Inter- and intraspecific differences in the life history and growth of Caridina spp. (Decapoda: Atyidae) in Hong Kong streams. Freshwater Biology, 50, 2114-2128.