Patterns of prey selection by the crab Cancer productus among three similar gastropod species (Nucella spp.)

Crabs are important predators known to influence the distribution, density, behaviour, and physical traits of their prey in marine ecosystems. However, the extent to which crabs, particularly generalists, differentiate or select among closely related prey species is less understood. Here, we examine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology 2020-09, Vol.530-531, p.151443, Article 151443
Main Authors: Barclay, Kristina M., Sinclair, Caroline R., Leighton, Lindsey R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cancer productus
Hypergeometric distribution
Northeast Pacific
Nucella
Predation
Prey selection
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Summary:Crabs are important predators known to influence the distribution, density, behaviour, and physical traits of their prey in marine ecosystems. However, the extent to which crabs, particularly generalists, differentiate or select among closely related prey species is less understood. Here, we examine prey preference in the red rock crab, Cancer productus Randall, 1840, between three closely related species of gastropod prey – Nucella ostrina (Gould, 1852), N. canaliculata (Duclos, 1832), and N. lamellosa (Gmelin, 1791). Crabs were presented with three individuals of each species distributed evenly in a 3 × 3 grid, and gastropods were ranked in the order that they were consumed. C. productus demonstrated a “preference” for N. lamellosa over both N. canaliculata (p = 0.019) and N. ostrina (p = 0.003), but were most likely to attack the first and then next gastropod they recognized, regardless of species, as they worked through the grid (p 
ISSN:0022-0981
1879-1697
DOI:10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151443