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Decorating behaviour by the majid crab Tiarinia cornigera as protection against predators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2004

Phan Due Thanh ,
Keiji Wada ,
Michiko Sato  and
Yoshihisa Shirayama
Phan Due Thanh
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Nara Women's University, Nara 630-8506, Japan
Keiji Wada
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Nara Women's University, Nara 630-8506, Japan
Michiko Sato
Affiliation:
Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University, Shirahama, Wakayama 649-2211, Japan
Yoshihisa Shirayama
Affiliation:
Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University, Shirahama, Wakayama 649-2211, Japan
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Abstract

Although decorating behaviour is widely reported as a predator avoidance strategy among marine crabs, few studies have provided experimental evidence for this. Significance of decorating behaviour of the majid crab Tiarinia cornigera as antipredator response was examined by the field tethering and laboratory experiments. Survival of decorated crabs was significantly higher than that of non-decorated crabs after two days in an intertidal rock pool. In a laboratory experiment, crabs used more algae for decoration in the presence of predators (puffer fish) than when predators were absent. These data demonstrate that T. cornigera decorates with algae in response to predators to reduce predation pressure.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 83 , Issue 6 , December 2003 , pp. 1235 - 1237
Copyright
2003 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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