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Changes in the behaviour of Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) after experimental trampling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2018

Leonardo Lopes Costa ,
Julyana Figueiredo Madureira  and
Ilana Rosental Zalmon
Leonardo Lopes Costa*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Avenida Alberto Lamego 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Julyana Figueiredo Madureira
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Avenida Alberto Lamego 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
Ilana Rosental Zalmon
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Avenida Alberto Lamego 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-602, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Leonardo Lopes Costa, E-mail: costa.ecomar@gmail.com
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Abstract

The effects of trampling are usually confounded by the diffuse impacts of the urbanization of sandy beaches. We performed a controlled experiment on a beach with low visitation rates to test the hypothesis that ghost crabs avoid building their burrows on impacted plots as a result of the compacted sediment, and they migrate to non-trampled areas. The sampling design encompassed 11 survey quadrats (6 × 6 m) above the strandline, including five trampled plots (100, 300, 900, 1500 and 3000 steps) and six non-trampled plots. The plots were sampled before and after 24, 48 and 72 h of experimental trampling. We found that the ghost crabs avoided building their burrows in only the 1500× and 3000× trampled plots after 24 h, but the avoidance was not related to sediment compactness. Additionally, the emersion time and escape distance from humans were significantly delayed in the most trampled plots, suggesting a lower surface activity and an avoidance of irregular (i.e. high micro-relief) sediment surfaces by ghost crabs, which might reduce their ability to perceive potential predators.

Keywords

Experimental approachghost crabhuman impactsandy beach
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 5 , August 2019 , pp. 1135 - 1140
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2018 

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