New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts
Use of camouflage materials as a food store by the spider crab Notomithrax
ursus (Brachyura: Majidae)
CHRIS M. C. WOODS
COLIN L. McLAY
Department of Zoology
University of Canterbury
Christchurch, New Zealand
Abstract In laboratory tests, the camouflage crab Notomithrax
ursus utilised its algal mask as a source of food. Mask ingestion mainly
involved the removal of algae from the carapace, with removal from legs
occurring less commonly, implying different rates of algal turnover. When there
was no other available source of food, crabs ate an average of 4.1% of the mask
per day but when an alternative source of food (mussel flesh) was available,
only 2.8% of the mask was consumed per day. A variety of red, green, and brown
algae were consumed. The dual role of the mask means that there is an
interaction between camouflage and food storage. Our results suggest that for
N. ursus, camouflage is more important because consumption
constitutes only a minor part of mask turnover. The evolution of spider crab
masking is discussed in relation to the published literature.
Keywords algae; food store; masking behaviour; Notomithrax
ursus; spider crab; camouflage
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (673K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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