Keywords
irregular echinoid
Pinnotheridae
spatial distribution
south Atlantic.
Echinodermata
equinoideo irregular
Pinnotheridae
distribución espacial
Atlántico sur.
How to Cite
Abstract
Encope emarginata (Leske, 1778) are frequently observed aggregated in the sediment and variations in its spatial patterns of distribution may be a function of changes on local hydrodynamic regime. Tiny crabs, Dissodactylus crinitichelis Moreira, 1901 living associate with these irregular echinoids. It is unclear whether the presence of crabs can affect the fitness of hosts and if this effect may be dependent on the abundance of crabs that a sand dollar is capable of hosting. If we consider that sand dollars act as substrate for symbionts then, they are subject to intraspecific competition for space. Based on this assumption, we hypothesize that the abundance of crabs will be positively correlated with sand dollar size. Two sampling campaigns were made, one in September - 2011 and other in May - 2012. Sand dollars were counted and measured in situ at the tidal flat in front of Cobras’ Island (25° 29’ 5” S - 48° 25’ 48” W) in the Paranaguá Bay - Southern, Brazil. Four parallel transects were distributed between depths of 0.5 to 2 m and the number of individuals were counted in a sample area of 4 m². In another moment, 164 sand dollars and their symbionts were measured. We observed 906 specimens of E. emarginata (558 in Sep / 11 and 348 in May / 12). Sand dollar densities range from zero to 20 ind. 4 m-², and had an aggregate distribution pattern with patches of different densities within transects and periods (F2, 15 = 9.466, p < 0.01). Patches were observed near to the coast in Sep / 11 compared with May / 12. The symbionts D. crinitichelis present a more variable distribution pattern if compared with sand dollars. In Sep / 11, crabs were clumped distributed as well as sand dollars. On the other hand, in May / 12 D. crinitichelis was random distributed, displaying a distinct pattern than those observed for E. emarginata hosts. No relationship between size of E. emarginata and the number symbionts was observed (Longitudinal axes: r = - 0.021, p < 0.05; Transverse axes: r = - 0.017, p > 0.05), refuting the hypothesis that space is a limiting resource for the crabs. On the contrary, distribution patterns of D. crinitichelis were seemingly influenced by the distribution of their host population, rather than by one single host specimen. This suggests that other factors (e.g., the spatial distribution and connectivity between patches within a population of sand dollars) may be more important for the population dynamics of D. crinitichelis than competition for space per se.
References
Alvares, C. A., Stape, J. L., Sentelhas, P. C., Gonçalves, J. L. M., & Sparovek, G. (2014). Köppen’s climate classification map for Brazil. Meteorologische Zeitschrift, 22, 711-728.
Baeza, J. A., & Thiel, M. (2003). Predicting territorial behavior in symbiotic crabs using host characteristics: a comparative study and proposal of a model. Marine Biology, 142, 93-100.
Baeza, J. A., & Thiel, M. (2007). The mating system of symbiotic crustaceans: a conceptual model based on optimality and ecological constraints (Chapter 12). In J. E. Duffy, & M. Thiel (Eds.), Evolutionary Ecology of Social and Sexual Systems: Crustaceans as Model Organisms (pp. 250-267). New York: Oxford University Press.
Beddingfield, S. D., & McClintock, J. B. (1993). Feeding behavior of the sea star Astropecten articulatus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea): an evaluation of energy efficient foraging in a soft-bottom predator. Marine Biology, 115, 669-676.
Bell, B. M., & Frey, R. W. (1969). Observation on ecology and the feeding and burrowing mechanisms on Mellita quinquiesperforata. Journal of Paleontology, 43, 553-560.
Bentley, A. C., & Cockcroft, A. C. (1995a). Sand dollar (Echinodiscus bisperforatus) distribution and abundance in South Africa: Implications for conservation and legislation. South African Journal of Science, 91, 38-40.
Bentley, A. C., & Cockcroft, A. C. (1995b). Sublittoral sand dollar (Echinodiscus bisperforatus) communities in two bays on the South African south coast. South African Journal of Zoology, 30, 5-17.
Birkeland, C., Chia, F. S., & Strathmann, R. R. (1971). Development, substratum, delay of metamorphosis and growth in the seastar, Mediaster aequalis Stimpson. The Biological Bulletin, 141, 99-108.
Borzone, C. A. (1992, 1993). Spatial distribution and growth of Mellita quinquiesperforata (Leske, 1778) on a sandy beach of southem Brazil. Nerítica, 7, 87-100.
Brustolin, M. C., Thomas, M. C., Mafra Jr., L. L., & Lana, P. C. (2014). Does Encope emarginata (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) affect spatial variation patterns of estuarine subtidal meiofauna and microphytobenthos? Journal of Sea Research, 91, 70-78.
Campos, E., de Campos, A. R., & de León-González, J. A. (2009). Diversity and ecological remarks of ectocommensals and ectoparasites (Annelida, Crustacea, Mollusca) of echinoids (Echinoidea: Mellitidae) in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. Parasitology Research, 105, 479-487.
Campbell, A. C., Coppard, S., D’Abreo, N., & Tudor-Thomas, T. (2001). Escape and aggregation responses of three enchinoderms to conspecific stimuli. The Biological Bulletin, 201, 175-185.
Clarke, K. R., Chapman, M. G., Somerfield, P. J., & Needham, H. R. (2006). Dispersion-based Weighting of Species Counts in Assemblage Analyses. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 320, 11-27.
Dean, W. E. (1974). Determination of carbonate and organic matter in calcareous sediments and sedimentary rocks by loss on ignition: comparison with other methods. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 44, 242-248.
Dexter, D. M. (1977). A natural history of the sand dollar Encope stokesi L. Agassiz in Panama. Bulletin of Marine Science, 27, 544-551.
Ebber, T. A., & Dexter, D. M. (1975). Natural-history study of Encope grandis and Mellita grantii, two sand dollars in Northern Gulf of California, Mexico. Marine Biology, 32, 397-407.
Elliott, J. M. (1977). Some methods for the statistical analysis of samples of benthic invertebrates. Westmorland: Freshwater Biological Association, Scientific Publications No. 25.
George, S. B., & Boone, S. (2003). Relationship between the commensal crab Dissodactylus mellitae and the sand dollar Mellita isometra. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 294, 235-255.
Gray, I. E., Downey, M. E., & Cerame-Vivas, M. J. (1968). Sea-stars of North Carolina. Fishery Bulletin, 67, 127-163.
Gross, M. G. (1971). Analysis of carbonaceous organic matter in sediments and sedimentary rocks. In R. E. Carver (Ed.), Procedures in sedimentary petrology (pp. 573-596). New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Hilber, S. E. (2006). Spatial and temporal patterns of feeding and food in three species of Mellitid sand dollars (Unpublished master dissertation). University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida. Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3874.
Hyman, L. H. (1955). The Invertebrates: Echinodermata, The coelomata Bilateria. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc.
Jossart, Q., Wattier, R. A., Kastally, C., Aron, S., David, B., Ridder, C. D., & Rigaud, T. (2014). Genetic Evidence Confirms Polygamous Mating System in a Crustacean Parasite with Multiple Hosts. PLoS ONE, 9, e90680.
Lana, P. C. (1986). Macrofauna bêntica de fundos sublitorais não consolidados da baía de Paranaguá (Paraná). Nerítica, 1, 79-90.
Lana, P. C., Marone, E., Lopes, R. M., & Machado, E. C. (2001). The Subtropical Estuarine Complex of Paranaguá Bay, Brazil. In U. Seeliger, & B. Kjerfve (Eds.), Coastal Marine Ecosystems of Latin America (pp. 131-145). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Lane, J. M. (1977). Bioenergetics of the sand dollar, Mellita quinquiesperforata (Leske, 1778). (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
Levinton, J. S. (1972). Stability and trophic structure in deposit-feeding and suspension-feeding communities. The American Naturalist, 106, 472-486.
Martinelli-Filho, J. E., dos Santos, R. B., & Ribeiro, C. C. (2014). Host selection, host-use pattern and competition in Dissodactylus crinitichelis and Clypeasterophilus stebbingi (Brachyura: Pinnotheridae). Symbiosis, 63, 99-110.
Marone, E., Machado, E. C., Lopes, R. M., & Silva, E. T. (2005). Land-ocean fluxes in the Paranaguá Bay estuarine system Southern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography, 53, 169-181.
Martins, S. T. S., & D’incao, F. (1996). Os Pinnotheridae de Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil (Decapoda, Brachyura). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 13, 1-26.
Merrill, R., & Hobson, E. (1970). Field Observations of Dendraster excentricus, a Sand Dollar of Western North America. American Midland Naturalist, 83, 595-624.
Morin, J. G., Kastendiek, J. E., Harrington, A., & Davis, N. (1985). Organization and patterns of interaction in a subtidal sand community on an exposed coast. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 27, 163-185.
Netto, S. A., & Lana, P. C. (1996). Benthic macrofauna of Spartina altemiflora marshes and nearby unvegetated tidal flats of Paranaguá Bay, Se Brazil. Neritica, 10, 41-55.
Netto, S. A., & Lana, P. C. (1997). Intertidal zonation of benthic macrofauna in a subtropical salt marsh and nearby unvegetated flat (SE Brazil). Hydrobiologia, 353, 171-180.
Noernberg, M. A., Lautert, L. F. C., Araújo, A. D., Marone, E., Angelotti, R., Netto, J. P. B., & Krug, L. A. (2006). Remote sensing and GIS integration for modeling the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex–Brazil. Journal of Coastal Research, SI39, 1627-1631.
Passos, A. C., Contente, R. F., Abbatepaulo, F. V., Spach, H. L., Vilar, C. C., Joyeux, J. C., & Favaro, L. F. (2013). Analysis of fish assemblages in sectors along a salinity gradient based on species, families and functional groups. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography, 61, 251-264.
Peiró, D. F., Pezzuto, P. R., & Mantelatto, F. L. (2011). Relative growth and sexual dimorphism of Austinixa aidae (Brachyura: Pinnotheridae): a symbiont of the ghost shrimp Callichirus major from the southwestern Atlantic. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research, 39, 261-270.
Peiró, D. F., Baeza, J. A., & Mantelatto, F. L. (2013). Host-use pattern and sexual dimorphism reveals the mating system of the symbiotic pea crab Austinixa aidae (Crustacea: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 93, 715-723.
Poulin, R. (2007). Are there general laws in parasite ecology? Parasitology, 134, 763-776.
Reese, E. S. (1966). The complex behavior of echinoderms. In R. A. Boolootian, (Ed.), Physiology of Echinoderms (pp. 157-218). New Jersey: Wiley Interscience.
Salsman, G. G., & Tolbert, W. H. (1965). Observations of the sand dollar, Mellita quinquiesperforata. Limnology and Oceanography, 10, 152-155.
Schmitt, W. L., Mccain, J. C., Davidson, E. S. (1973). Pars 3. Decapoda I. Brachyura I. Fam. Pinnotheridae. In H. E. Gruner, & L. B. Holthuis (Eds.), Crustaceorum Catalogus (pp. 1 - 161). Den Haag: Dr. W. Junk B.V.
Swigart, J. P., & Lawrence, J. M. (2008). Small scale distribution of the sand dollars Mellita tenuis and Encope michelini (Clypeasteroida: Echinodermata) off the central Florida gulf coast. Gulf of Mexico Science, 26, 46-56.
Telford, M. (1978). Distribution of two species of Dissodactylus (Brachyura: Pinnotheridae) among their echinoid host population in Barbados. Bulletin of Marine Science, 28, 651-658.
Telford, M. (1982). Echinoderm spine structure, feeding and host relationships of four species of Dissodactylus (Brachyura: Pinnotheridae). Bulletin of Marine Science, 32, 584-594.
Thiel, M., & Baeza, J. A. (2001). Factors affecting the behavioural ecology of crustaceans living symbiotically with other marine invertebrates: a modelling approach. Symbiosis, 30, 163-190.
Timko, P. L. (1976). Sand dollar as suspension feeders: a new description of feeding in Dendraster excentricus. Biological Bulletin, 151, 247-259.
Vanhoni, F., & Mendonça, F. (2008). O clima do litoral do estado do Paraná. Revista Brasileira de Climatologia, 3-4, 49-63.
Werding, B., & Sanchez, H. (1989). Pinnotherid crabs of the genus Dissodactylus Smith, 1870, associated with irregular sea urchins at the Caribbean coast of Colombia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pinnotheridae). Zoologische Mededelingen, 63, 35-42.
Williams, A. B., Mccloskey, L., & Gray, L. (1968). New records of Brachyuran Decapod Crustacea from the continental shelf of North Carolina, USA. Crustaceana, 15, 41-66.
Wirtz, P., Melo, G. A. S., & Grave, S. (2009). Symbioses of the decapod crustaceans along the coast of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Marine Biodiversity Records, 2, 1-9.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2015 Revista de Biología Tropical