Habitat-related differences in the pre-copulatory guarding and copulation behavior of Neohelice granulata (Brachyura, Grapsoidea, Varunidae)

SAL MOYANO M. P.; GAVIO M. A.; MCLAY C; LUPPI T. A.

JOURNAL OF SEA RESEARCH

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 87 p. 8 - 16

1385-1101

Mating behavior strategies of brachyuran crabs are flexible depending on the habitat and social context.We evaluate pre-copulatory guarding in Neohelice granulata and describe the unusual copulatory behavior. Laboratory experiments were conducted to test whether factors such as male size, presence of burrows, a male-biased operational sex ratio (OSR) and female mating history affect the copulation duration in two different study areas. Females initiated a searching behavior approximately 20?26 h before they became receptive by assessing large male burrows and displaying a courtship behavior (?flirting?) in its entrance. Once the female entered inside the male burrow, pre-copulatory guarding was observed until the female became receptive and successful copulation occurred immediately after. This species shows some very unusual copulatory behavior involving eyestalk grasping not seen in any other varunid crab. The copulation duration was independent ofmale size and the presence of burrows, although it was dependent on the study area, the OSR and the femalemating history. Thus, copulation duration is a flexible character in this species which varies with habitat and biological factors such as mating history and sex ratio.