Abstract
Ovigerous females of the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould) were collected from an estuary having irregular tides and exposed to only a semi-diurnal tidal cycle in salinity change in the laboratory. A circatidal rhythm developed, in which larval release occurred around the predicted time of highest salinity (high tide). Thus, salinity cycles can entrain a tidal rhythm. After exposure to only a diel light/dark (LD) cycle, releases occurred mainly in the first 2 h of the dark phase. When exposed to both a tidal salinity cycle and an LD cycle, larval release depended upon the time of nocturnal high tide. Crabs only released at night. If high tide was near the beginning or within about 3 h of the end of the dark phase, releases occurred at the beginning of the dark phase. As high tide moved toward the middle of the night, an increasing proportion of crabs released around the predicted time of high tide. These data support the suggestions that (1) the LD and tidal salinity cycles control the specific time of hatching and (2) there is a hierarchy in the functional advantages for the timing of larval release, in which reduced vulnerability to visual predators is more important than avoidance of stressful salinities or intial seaward transport.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literature cited
Bergin, M. E.: Hatching rhythms in Uca pugilator (Decapoda: Brachyura). Mar. Biol. 63, 151–158 (1981)
Branford, J. R.: The influence of daylength, temperature and season on the hatching rhythm of Homarus gammarus. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., 58, 639–658 (1978)
Christy, J. H.: Adaptive significance of reproductive cycle in the fiddler crab Uca pugilator. A hypothesis. Science, N.Y. 197, 453–455 (1978)
Christy, J. H.: Adaptive significance of semilunar cycles of larval release in fiddler crabs (genus Uca): test of an hypothesis. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 163, 251–263 (1982)
Christy, J. H., and S. E. Stancyk: Movement of larvae from North Inlet estuary, S.C. with special reference to crab zoeae. In: Estuarine comparisons, pp 489–502. Ed. by V. Kennedy. New York: Academic Press 1982
Cronin, T. W.: Estuarine retention of larvae of the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii. Estuar. cstl Shelf Sci. 15, 207–220 (1982)
Davenport, S., Ll. D. Gruffydd and A. R. Beaumont. An apparatus to supply water of fluctuating salinity and its use in a study of the salinity tolerance of larvae of the scallop Pecten maximus L. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 55, 391–399 (1975)
DeCoursey, P.: Egg hatching rhythms in three species of fiddler crabs. In: Cyclic phenomena in marine plants and animals, pp 399–406. Ed. by E. Naylor and R. G. Hartnoll. Proc. 13th Eur. mar. biol. Symp. Oxford: Pergamon Press 1979
Dollard, H.A.: Larval release patterns in the wharf crab, Sesarma cinereum from North Inlet, South Carolina. Masters thesis, University of South Carolina. 34 pp. 1980
Ennis, G. P.: Endogenous rhythmicity associated with larval hatching in the lobster Homarus gammarus. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 53, 531–538 (1973)
Ennis, G. P.: Observations on hatching and larval release in the lobster Homarus americanus. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 32, 2210–2213 (1975)
Forward, R. B., Jr., K. J. Lohmann and T. W. Cronin: Rhythms in larval release by an estuarine crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii). Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 163, 287–300 (1982)
Forward, R. B., Jr., and K. J. Lohmann: Control of egg hatching in the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould). Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 165, 154–166 (1983)
Moller, T. H., and J. R. Branford: A circadian hatching rhythm in Nephrops norvegicus (Crustacea: Decapoda). In: Cyclic phenomena in marine plants and animals, pp 391–397. Ed. by E. Naylor and R. G. Hartnoll. Proc. 13th Eur. mar. Biol. Symp. Oxford: Pergamon Press 1979
Naylor, E.: Tidal and lunar rhythms in animals and plants. In: Biological timekeeping, pp 33–48. Ed. by J. Brady. Society for Experimental Biology Seminar Series 14. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1982
Roelofs, E. W., and D. F. Bumpus: The hydrography of Pamlico Sound. Bull mar. Sci. Gulf Carib. 3, 181–205 (1953)
Saigusa, M.: Entrainment of a semilunar rhythm by a simulated moon light cycle in the terrestrial crab Sesarma haematocheis. Oecologia (Berl.) 46, 38–44 (1980)
Saigusa, M.: Adaptative significance of a semilunar rhythm in the terrestrial crab Sesarma. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 160, 311–321 (1981)
Saigusa, M.: Larval release rhythms coinciding with solar day and tidal cycles in the terrestrial crab Sesarma—Harmony with semilunar timing and its adaptive significance. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 162, 371–386 (1982)
Saigusa, M., and T. Hidaka: Semilunar rhythm in a zoea-release activity of the land crab Sesarma. Oecologia (Berl.) 37, 163–176 (1978)
Salmon, M., and G. W., Hyatt: Spatial and temporal aspects of reproduction in North Carolina fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator Bosc). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 70, 21–43 (1983)
Taylor, A. C., and E. Naylor: Entrainment of the locomotor rhythm of Carcinus by cycles of salinity change. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 57, 273–277 (1977)
Wheeler, D. E.: Semilunar hatching periodicity in the mud fiddler crab Uca pugnax (Smith). Estuaries 1, 268–269 (1978)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. M. Lawrence, Tampa
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Forward, R.B., Douglass, J.K. & Kenney, B.E. Entrainment of the larval release rhythm of the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Brachyura: Xanthidae) by cycles in salinity change. Mar. Biol. 90, 537–544 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409274
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409274