INVESTIGADORES
LOMOVASKY Betina Judith
artículos
Título:
Macroalgal fouling on the intertidal mole crab Emerita analoga facilitates bird predation
Autor/es:
HIDALGO, F.; FIRSTATER, F.; LOMOVASKY BETINA J.,; GALLEGOS, P.; GAMERO, P.; IRIBARNE O.
Revista:
HELGOLAND MARINE RESEARCH
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2010 vol. 64 p. 367 - 376
ISSN:
1438-387X
Resumen:
In this work, we studied the effects of predation by birds on the
intertidal mole crab Emerita analoga fouled by macroalgae in a sandy
beach of central Peru (11° S). The epibiosis affected mostly the larger
animals, especially adult females. Epibiosis prevalence for the entire
intertidal population was relatively low (1?2%), however, within the
size range affected by epibiosis in the intertidal zone (18?23 mm in
carapace length), 20?38% of the animals were fouled. Focal observations
of birds showed that fouled animals are preferred over those non-fouled
of the same size class and hence the same sex, being consumed at a
higher rate than their proportion in the intertidal (Ches-son?s alpha
index of prey selection[0.96), and estimations of mortality rates
indicated that more than 35% of the intertidal fouled animals are
removed everyday by birds. The effect of epibiosis may be mainly
attributed to a higher burrowing time or an increased visual attractive
effect of the algae, which make fouled animals more conspicuous to
predatory birds, or because of fouling enhances profitability of the
animals. The results show that epibiosis has negative effects on E.
analoga through increasing predation by birds, which in turn restricts
the distribution and abundance of fouled E. analoga in the intertidal
zone.