✦ LIBER ✦
Cessation of hole-digging by the crabHelograpsus haswellianus: A resource-conserving adaptation
✍ Scribed by S. C. McKillup; A. J. Butler
- Book ID
- 104756459
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag
- Year
- 1979
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 415 KB
- Volume
- 50
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0025-3162
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Cases where the mud crab Helograpsus haswellianus (Whitelegge) have dug too many holes and collapsed the mud surface are not observed in the field. Experiments have shown that there is a specific density of holes above which the mud collapses. H. haswellianus at different densities in closed cages do not dig holes over this density. Instead, two or more individuals occupy existing holes on a short-term basis. The significance of this behaviour is discussed.