Bioecology of the ghost crab ocypode quadrata (fabricius, 1787) (crustacea: Brachyura) compared with other intertidal crabs in the Southwestern Atlantic

Journal of Shellfish Research

Volumn 29, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 503-512

  Branco, Joaquim O ^a   Hillesheim, Juliano C ^a   Fracasso, Hélio A A ^b   Christoffersen, Martin L ^c   Evangelista, Cristiano L ^a  

^a UNIVERSIDADE DO VALE DO ITAJAÍ   (Brazil)

^b FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF SÃO CARLOS   (Brazil)

^c FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF PARAÍBA   (Brazil)

Author keywords

anthropogenic effects; ghost crab; Ocypode quadrata; population structure; reproduction; trophic structure

Indexed keywords

APIS; BRACHYURA; CRUSTACEA; DECAPODA (CRUSTACEA); INVERTEBRATA; OCYPODE QUADRATA; OCYPODIDAE; RODENTIA; SPEOTYTO CUNICULARIA; STRIGIFORMES;

EID: 77955264382     PISSN: 07308000     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2983/035.029.0229     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. Alberto, R. M. F. & N. F. Fontoura. 1999. Distribuixcao e estrutura etaria de Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Ocypodidae) em praia arenosa do litoral Sul do Brasil. Rev. Bras. Biol. 59:95-108.
2. Barros, F. 2001. Ghost crabs as a tool for rapid assessment of human impacts on exposed sandy beaches. Biol. Conserv. 97:399-404.
3. Bas, C., T. Luppi & E. Spivak. 2005. Population structure of the South American estuarine crab, Chasmagnathus granulatus (Brachyura: Varunidae) near the southern limit of its geographical distribution: comparison with northern populations. Hydrobiologia 537:217-228.
4. Beatley, T., D. J. Brower & A. K. Schwab. 2002. An introduction to coastal zone management, 2nd edition. Washington, DC: Island Press. 329 pp.
5. Bellocq, M. I. 1987. Seleccion de habitat de caza y depredacion diferencial de Athene cunicularia sobre roedores en ecosistemas agrarios. Rev. Chil. Hist. Nat. 60:81-86.
6. Berg, J. 1979. Discussion of methods of investigating the food of fishes, with a reference to a preliminary study of the prey of Gobiusculus flavencens (Gobiidae). Mar. Biol. 50:263-273.
7. Blankensteyn, A. 2006. O uso do caranguejo Maria-farinha Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius) (Crustacea, Ocypodidae) como indicador de impactos antropogenicos em praias arenosas da Ilha de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 23:870-876.
8. Bortolus, A., P. Laterra & O. Iribarne. 2004. Crab-mediated phenotypic changes in Spartina densiflora Brong. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 59:97-107.
9. Bortolus, A., E. Schwindt & O. Iribarne. 2002. Positive plant-animal interactions in the high marsh of an Argentinean coastal lagoon. Ecology 83:733-742.
10. Botto, F. & O. Iribarne. 1999. Effect of the burrowing crab Chasmag-nathus granulata (Dana) on the benthic community of a SW Atlantic coastal lagoon. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 241:263-284.
11. Botto, F. & O. Iribarne. 2000. Contrasting effects of two burrowing crabs (Chasmagnathus granulata and Uca uruguayensis) on sediment composition and transport in estuarine environments. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 51:141-151.
12. Botto, F., O. Palomo, O. Iribarne & H. M. Martinez. 2000. The effect of southwestern Atlantic burrowing crabs on habitat use and foraging activity of migratory shorebirds. Estuaries 23:208-215.
13. Botto, F., I. Valiela, O. Iribarne, P. Martinetto & J. Alberti. 2005. Impact of burrowing crabs on C and N sources, control, and transformations in sediments and food webs of SW Atlantic estuaries. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 293:155-164.
14. Branco, J. O. & M. J. Lunardon-Branco. 1993. Aspectos da biologia de Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863 (Decapoda, Portunidae) na regiao de Matinhos, Parana, Brasil. Arq. Biol. Tecnol. 36:489-496.
15. Branco, J. O., M. J. Lunardon-Branco & F. X. Souto. 2002. Estrutura populacional de Portunus spinimanus Latreille (Crustacea, Portuni-dae) na Armaxcao do Itapocoroy, Penha, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 19:731-738.
16. Branco, J. O. & J. R. Verani. 1997. Dinamica da alimentaxcao natural de Callinectes danae Smith (Decapoda, Portunidae) na Lagoa da Conceixcao, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 14:1003-1018.
17. Casariego, A. M., E. Schwindt & O. Iribarne. 2004. Evidence of habitat structure-generated bottleneck in the recruitment process of the SW Atlantic crab Cyrtograpsus angulatus. Mar. Biol. 145:259-264.
18. Castiglioni, D. D. & M. L. Negreiros-Fransozo. 2005. Comparative population biology of Uca rapax (Smith, 1870) (Brachyura, Ocypo-didae) from two subtropical mangrove habitats of the Brazilian coast. J. Nat. Hist. 39:1627-1640.
19. Castiglioni, D. D. & M. L. Negreiros-Fransozo. 2006a. Physiologic sexual maturity of the fiddler crab Uca rapax (Smith, 1870) (Crustacea, Ocypodidae) from two mangroves in Ubatuba, Brazil. Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. 49:239-248.
20. Castiglioni, D. D. & M. L. Negreiros-Fransozo. 2006b. Reproductive cycle of the fiddler crab Uca rapax (Smith) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ocypodidae) at a degraded estuary in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 23:331-339.
21. Castiglioni, D. D., M. L. Negreiros-Fransozo, L. S. L. Greco, A. F. Silveira & S. O. Silveira. 2007. Gonad development in females of fiddler crab Uca rapax (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ocypodidae) using macro and microscopic techniques. Iheringia Ser. Zool. 97:505-510.
22. Costa, T. M. & M. J. Negreiros-Fransozo. 1998. The reproductive cycle of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Decapoda, Portunidae) in the Ubatuba region, Brazil. Crustaceana 71:616-627.
23. Daleo, P. & O. Iribarne. 2009. The burrowing crab Neohelice granulata affects the root strategies of the cordgrass Spartina densiflora in SW Atlantic salt marshes. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 373:66-71.
24. Daleo, P., P. Ribeiro & O. Iribarne. 2003. The SW Atlantic burrowing crab Chasmagnathus granulatus Dana affects the distribution and survival of the fiddler crab Uca uruguayensis Nobili. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 291:255-267.
25. De Araujo, C. C. V., D. M. Rosa & J. M. Fernandes. 2008. Densidade e distribuixcao espacial do caranguejo Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) (Crustacea, Ocypodidae) em tres praias arenosas do Esp?rito Santo, Brasil. Rev. Biotem. 21:73-80.
26. Defeo, O., A. McLachlan, D. S. Schoeman, T. A. Schlacher, J. Dugan, A. Jones, M. Lastra & F. Scapini. 2009. Threats to sandy beach ecosystems: a review. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 81:1-12.
27. Duncan, G. A. 1986. Burrows of Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius) as related to slopes of substrate surface. J. Paleontol. 60:384-389.
28. Escapa, M., G. M. E. Perillo & O. Iribarne. 2008. Sediment dynamics modulated by burrowing crab activities in contrasting SW Atlantic intertidal habitats. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 80:365-373.
29. Fales, R. R. 1976. Apparent predation on the mole crab Emerita talpoida (Say) by the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius). Chesap. Sci. 17:1-65.
30. Fanjul, E., M. A. Grela, A. Canepuccia & O. Iribarne. 2008. The southwest Atlantic intertidal burrowing crab Neohelice granulata modifies nutrient loads of phreatic waters entering coastal area. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 79:300-306.
31. Gianuca, N. M. 1997. A fauna das dunas costeiras do Rio Grande do Sul. Oecol. Bras. 3:121-133.
32. Haley, S. R. 1969. Relative growth and sexual maturity of the Texas ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata (Fabr.) (Brachyura, Ocypodidae). Crustaceana 17:285-297.
33. Haley, S. R. 1972. Reproductive cycling in the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius) (Brachyura, Ocypodidae). Crustaceana 23:1-11.
34. Hunt, H. L. & R. E. Scheibling. 1997. Role of early post-settlement mortality in recruitment of benthic marine invertebrates. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 155:269-301.
35. Hynes, H. B. N. 1950. The food of fresh-water sticklebacks (Gastersteus aculeatus and Pygosteus pungitius) with a review of method used in studies of the food fishes. J. Anim. Ecol. 19:36-51.
36. Hyslop, E. J. 1980. Stomach contents analysis: a review of methods and their application. J. Fish Biol. 17:411-429.
37. Iribarne, O., F. Botto, P. Martinetto & J. L. Gutierrez. 2000. The role of burrows of the SW Atlantic intertidal crab Chasmagnathus granulata in trapping debris. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 40:1057-1062.
38. Iribarne, O., M. Bruschetti, M. Escapa, J. Bava, F. Botto, J. Gutierrez, G. Palomo, K. Delhey, P. Petracci & A. Gagliardini. 2005. Small-and large-scale effect of the SW Atlantic burrowing crab Chasmag-nathus granulatus on habitat use by migratory shorebirds. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 315:87-101.
39. Iribarne, O., P. Martinetto, E. Schwindt, F. Botto, A. Bortolus & P. G. Borboroglu. 2003. Evidences of habitat displacement between two common soft-bottom SW Atlantic intertidal crabs. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 296:167-182.
40. Lomovasky, B. J., A. M. Casariego, T. Brey & O. Iribarne. 2006. The effect of the SW Atlantic burrowing crab Chasmagnathus granulatus on the intertidal razor clam Tagelus plebeius. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 337:19-29.
41. Martin, A. J. 2006. Resting traces of Ocypode quadrata associated with hydration and respiration: Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA. Ichnos 13:57-67.
42. Martinetto, P., O. Iribarne & G. Palomo. 2005. Effect of fish predation on intertidal benthic fauna is modified by crab bioturbation. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 318:71-84.
43. Martinetto, P., M. Valinas, G. Palomo & O. Iribarne. 2007. Negative interactions between two SW Atlantic intertidal crabs in soft-bottom habitats. Mar. Biol. 151:1479-1490.
44. Martins, M. R. C. & S. G. Egler. 1990. Comportamento de caxca em um casal de corujas buraqueiras (Athene cunicularia) na regiao de Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brasil. Rev. Bras. Biol. 50:579-584.
45. McLachlan, A. & A. C. Brown. 2006. The ecology of sandy beaches. Burlington: Academic Press. 373 pp.
46. McLaughlin, P. A. & J. F. Hebard. 1961. Stomach contents of the Bering Sea king crab. Bull. Int. North Pac. Fish Comm. 5:5-8.
47. Melo, G. S. 1996. Manualde identificaxcao dos Brachyura (caranguejos e siris) do litoral de Santa Catarina. Sao Paulo: Pleiade. 604 pp.
48. Milne, L. J. & M. J. Milne. 1946. Notes on the behavior of the ghost crab. Am. Midl. Nat. 80:362-380.
49. Moss, D. & D. P. McPhee. 2006. The impacts of recreational four-wheel driving on the abundance of the ghost crab (Ocypode cordimanus) on a subtropical sandy beach in SE Queensland. Coast. Manage. 34:133-140.
50. Negreiros-Fransozo, M. L., A. Fransozo & G. Bertini. 2002. Reproductive cycle and recruitment period of Ocypode quadrata (Decapoda, Ocypodidae) at a sandy beach in southeastern Brazil. J. Crustac. Biol. 22:157-161.
51. Neves, F. M. & C. E. Bemvenuti. 2006. The ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) as a potential indicator of anthropic impact along the Rio Grande do Sul coast, Brazil. Biol. Conserv. 133:431-435.
52. Olafsson, E. B., C. H. Peterson & W. G. Ambrose, Jr. 1994. Does recruitment limitation structure populations and communities of macro-invertebrates in marine soft-sediments: the relative significance of pre-and post-settlement processes. Annu. Rev. Ocean. Mar. Biol. 32:65-109.
53. Paine, R. T. 1966. Food web complexity and species diversity. Am. Nat. 100:65-75.
54. Palomo, G., F. Botto, D. Navarro, M. Escapa & O. Iribarne. 2003a. Does the presence of the SW Atlantic burrowing crab Chasmagna-thus granulatus Dana affect predator-prey interactions between shorebirds and polychaetes? J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 290:211-228.
55. Palomo, G., P. Martinetto & O. Iribarne. 2004. Changes in the feeding behavior of the deposit-feeding polychaete Laeonereis acuta on soft sediments inhabited by burrowing crabs. Mar. Biol. 145:657-667.
56. Palomo, G., P. Martinetto, C. Perez & O. Iribarne. 2003b. Ant predation on intertidal polychaetes in a SW Atlantic estuary. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 253:165-173.
57. Perez, C. P. & M. R. Vianna. 2007. Distribuixcao espacial de tocas de Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) em relaxcao a altura da mare em uma praia da ilha do Cardoso (Cananeia, SP). An. Congr. Ecol. Bras. 8:1-2.
58. Perry, M. J., J. Tait, J. Hu, S. C. White & S. Medler. 2009. Skeletal muscle fiber types in the ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata: implications for running performance. J. Exp. Biol. 212:673-683.
59. Phillips, A. M. 1940. The ghost crab: adventures investigating the life of a curious and interesting creature that lives on our doorstep, the only large crustacean of our North Atlantic Coast that passes a good part of its life on land. Nat. Hist. 46:36-41.
60. Portell, R. W., R. L. Turner & J. L. Beerensson. 2003. Occurrence of the Atlantic ghost crab Ocypode quadrata from the Upper Pleistocene to Holocene Anastasia Formation of Florida. J. Crustac. Biol. 23:712-722.
61. Quijon, P., E. Jaramillo & H. Contreras. 2001. Distribution and habitat structure of Ocypode gaudichaudii H. Milne Edwards & Lucas, 1843, in sandy beaches of northern Chile. Crustaceana 74:91-103.
62. Rathbun, M. J. 1918. The grapsoid crabs of America. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 97:1-461.
63. Roberts, C. M. & J. P. Hawkins. 1999. Extinction risk in the sea. Trends Ecol. Evol. 14:241-247.
64. Robertson, J. R. & P. J. Williams. 1982. Deposit-feeding by the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 56:165-177.
65. Rosa, L. C. & C. E. Bemvenuti. 2004. Infaunal recruitment patterns in soft bottom habitats of the Patos Lagoon estuary, southern Brazil: influence of Chasmagnathus granulata (Brachyura, Grapsidae) disturbance. Iheringia Ser. Zool. 91:301-305.
66. Rosa, L. C. & C. E. Bemvenuti. 2005. Effects of the burrowing crab Chasmagnathus granulata (Dana) on meiofauna of estuarine in-tertidal habitats of Patos Lagoon, southern Brazil. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn. 48:267-274.
67. Santos, E. P. 1978. Dinamica de populaxcoes aplicada a pesca e piscicul-tura. Sao Paulo: Editora da Universidade de Sao Paulo. 129 pp.
68. Santos, M. C. F., G. S. Moreira & R. O. Brotto. 1989. Osmo-ionic regulation in the Brazilian ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) (Crustacea, Brachyura). Sci. Mar. 53:691-694.
69. Sawaya, P. 1939. Animais cavadores de praia arenosa. Arq. Inst. Biol. (Sao Paulo) 10:319-326.
70. Sick, H. 1997. Ornitologia Brasileira, 2nd edition. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Nova Fronteira. 912 pp.
71. Sokal, R. R. & F. J. Rohlf. 1969. Biometry: the principles and practices of statistics in biological research. San Francisco: Freeman. 776 pp.
72. Steiner, A. J. & S. P. Leatherman. 1981. Recreational impacts on the distribution of ghost crabs O. quadrata Fab. Biol. Conserv. 20:111-122.
73. Taissoun, E. N. 1969. Las especies de cangrejos del genero "Callinectes" (Brachyura) en el Golfo de Venezuela e Lago Maracaibo. Bol. Centr. Invest. Biol. 2:1-112.
74. Trott, T. J. 1998. On the sex ratio of the painted ghost crab Ocypode gaudichaudii Milne Edwards and Lucas, 1843 (Brachyura, Ocypo-didae). Crustaceana 71:46-56.
75. Trott, T. J. 1999. Gustatory responses of ghost crab Ocypode quadrata to seawater extracts and chemical fractions of natural stimuli. J. Chem. Ecol. 25:375-388.
76. Turra, A., M. A. O. Gonxcalves & M. R. Denadai. 2005. Spatial distribution of the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata in low-energy tide-dominated sandy beaches. J. Nat. Hist. 39:2163-2177.
77. Valiela, I., J. L. Bowen & J. K. York. 2001. Mangrove forests: one of the world's threatened major tropical environments. Bioscience 51:807-815.
78. Valiela, I. & S. E. Fox. 2008. Ecology: managing coastal wetlands. Science 319:290-291.
79. Valiela, I., D. Rutecki & S. E. Fox. 2004. Salt marshes: biological controls of food webs in a diminishing environment. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 300:131-159.
80. Vazzoler, A. E. A. M. 1996. Biologia da reproduxcao de peixes teleosteos: teoria e pratica. Maringa: Editora da Universidade Estadual de Maringa. 169 pp.
81. Veloso, V. G., R. S. Cardoso & D. B. Fonseca. 1997. Adaptaxcoes e biologia da macrofauna de praias arenosas expostas com enfases nas especies da regiao entre-mares do litoral fluminense. Oecol. Bras. 3:121-133.
82. Veloso, V. G., E. S. Silva, C. H. S. Caetano & R. S. Cardoso. 2006. Comparison between the macrofauna of urbanized and protected beaches in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Biol. Conserv. 127:510-515.
83. Warren, J. H. 1990. Role of burrows as refuges from subtidal predators of temperate mangrove crabs. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 67:295-299.
84. Williams, A. B. 1984. Shrimps, lobsters, and crabs of the Atlantic coast of the eastern United States, Maine to Florida. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 550 pp.
85. Wolcott, T. G. 1976. Uptake of soil capillary water by ghost crabs. Nature 264:756-757.
86. Wolcott, T. G. 1978. Ecological role of ghost crabs, Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius) on an ocean beach: scavengers or predators? J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 31:103-113.
87. Wolcott, T. G. & D. L. Wolcott. 1984. Impact of off-road vehicles on macro invertebrates of a mid-Atlantic beach. Biol. Conserv. 29:217-240.