ISSN:
1439-5444
Keywords:
Key words Ocypodid crabs
;
Waving display
;
Tidal flat
;
Cage experiment
;
Social signal
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract Scopimera globosa, a small ocypodid crab, rhythmically raises and lowers its body and both chelae in a waving display when it is not interacting directly with another individual. To determine whether waving is a social signal and to deduce its possible function, we manipulated the sex and density of crabs in a field enclosure and recorded the waving frequency of males. Males with abundant female neighbors waved significantly more often than when the same males were caged with abundant male neighbors. Males caged with fewer neighbors of either sex seldom waved. Thus, males waved most in the presence of females, especially at high density, and least in the presence of other males, suggesting that waving may function in female acquisition.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s101640070023
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