Abstract
The feeding behaviour of leaf eating crustaceans feeding on leaves shed by Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorhiza and Rhizophora stylosa in the mangrove forest at Myora Springs, Queensland, Australia was studied between 1980 and 1984. Individual Sesarma erythrodactyla (carapace >9 mm long), one of the most abundant species of crabs in the forest, processed approximately half a leaf from any of the three species of mangroves in 24 h under laboratory conditions. of the amount of leaf material processed, 20% was lost from the mandibles due to “sloppy feeding”, 68% was egested as faeces and 12% converted into crab biomass. Crabs processed more leaf material at 30°C than at 20°C. S. erythrodactyla preferred leaves of A. marina to those of the other two species, probably because leaves of A. marina have a lower tannin and a higher nitrogen content. Of the other two species, B. gymnorhiza was preferred to R. stylosa. Among leaves of R. stylosa, S. erythrodactyla exerts a strong preference for aged rather than freshly fallen, and for thick rather than thin leaves. The mesofauna (carapace length <9.0 mm) which processed dead mangrove leaves comprised juveniles of S. erythrodactyla, the crab Ilyograpsus paludicola, the isopod Exosphaeroma alata and the amphipods Orchestia sp. and Melita sp. These species processed between 0.2 and 24.7 mg dry wt of a leaf per individual over a period of 4 d. Of this, 72 to 85% was egested as faeces. The significance of leaf eating crabs to nutrient cycling in mangrove forests is discussed. I conclude that leaf processing by crustaceans shortens the time span between leaf fall and consumption of leaf material by organisms. This may have the effect of conserving leaf biomass inside the mangrove forest.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literature cited
Bärlocher, F. (1982). The contribution of fungal enzymes to the digestion of leaves of Gammarus fossarum Koch (Amphipoda). Oecologia 51: 1–4
Bärlocher, F., Kendrick, B. (1975). Assimilation efficiency of Gammarus pseudolineatus feeding on fungal mycelium or autumnshed leaves. Oikos 26: 55–59
Burton, H. S., McWeeny, D. J., Pandhi, P. N. (1963). Non-enzymatic browning: browning of phenols and its inhibition by sulphur dioxide. Nature, Lond. 199: 659–661
Camilleri, J. C. (1984). Litter decomposition and resource partitioning in a mangrove forest: a case study in systems ecology and modelling. Ph. D. Thesis. Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Camilleri, J. C., Ribi, G. (1986). Leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from dead leaves, formation of flakes from DOC, and feeding on flakes by crustaceans in mangroves. Mar. Biol. 91: 337–344
Cammen, L. M. (1980). The significance of microbial carbon in the nutrition of the deposit feeding polychaete Nereis succinea. Mar. Biol. 61: 9–20
Charmier, A.-C., Willoughby, L. G. (1986). The role of fungi in the diet of the amphipod Gammarus pulex L.: an enzymatic study. Freshwat. Biol. 16: 197–208
Cummins, K. W., Petersen, R. G., Howard, F., Wuycheck, J., Holt, V. (1973). The utilization of leaf litter by stream detritivores. Ecology 54: 36–345
Cundall, A. M., Brown, M. S., Stanford, R., Mitchell, R. (1979). Microbial degradation of Rhizophora mangle leaves immersed in the sea. Estuar. cstl mar. Sci. 9: 281–286
De Mott, W. R. (1986). The role of taste in food selection by freshwater zooplankton. Oecologia 69: 334–340
Fell, J. W., Cefalu, R. C., Master, I. M., Tallman, A. S. (1975). Microbial activities in the mangrove (R. mangle) leaf detrital system. In: Walsh, G., Snedaker, S., Teas, T. (eds.) Proceedings of the International Symposium for the Biology and Management of Mangroves, Vol. 2
Florkin, M., Bradley, B. T. (eds.) (1970). Chemical Zoology. Vol. V, Arthropoda, Part A. Academic Press, London
Kaushik, N. W., Hynes, H. B. N. (1971). The fate of the dead leaves that fall into streams. Arch. Hydrobiol. 68: 465–515
Kuthubutheen, A. J. (1981). Fungi associated with the aerial parts of Malaysian mangrove plants. Mycopathologia 76: 33–43
Kyomo, J. (1986). Reproductive activities in the sesarmid crab Sesarma intermedia in the coastal and estuarine habitats of Hakata, Japan. Mar. Biol. 91: 319–329
Levinton, J. S., Lopez, G. R. (1977). A model of renewable resources and limitation of deposit-feeding benthic populations. Oecologia 31: 177–190
Mackay, R. J., Kalff, J. (1973). Ecology of two related species of caddis fly larvae in the organic substrates of a woodland stream. Ecology 54: 500–511
Macnae, W. (1966). Mangroves in Eastern and South-Eastern Australia. Aust. J. Bot. 14: 67–104
Misra, S., Dutta, A. K., Choudhury, A., Ghosh, A. (1985). Oxidation of oleandric acid of Avicennia officinalis leaves to oleanonic acid in the natural environment of sunderban mangrove ecosystem. J. chem. Ecol. 11: 339–342
Neilson, M. J., Giddins, R. L., Richards, G. N.: (1986). Effect of tannins on the palatability of mangrove leaves to the tropical sesarminid crab Neosarmatium smithi. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 34: 185–186
O'Hop, J., Bruce, J. W., Haefner, J. D. (1984). Production of a stream shredder, Peltoperla maria (Plecoptera: Peltoperlidae) in disturbed and undisturbed hardwood catchments. Freshwat. Biol. 14: 13–21
Punja, Z. K., Jenkins, S. F. (1984). Light and scanning electron microscope observations of calcium oxalate crystals produced during growth of Sclerotium rolfsii in culture and in infected tissue. Can. J. Bot. 62: 2028–2032
Ray, D. L., Julian, J. R. (1952). Occurrence of cellulase in Limnoria. Nature, Lond. 169: 32–33
Ray, D. L., (1959). Nutritional physiology of Limnoria. In: Ray, D. L. (ed.) Maring Boring and Fouling organisms. Seattle, University of Washington Press, p. 47–59
Robertson, A. I. (1988). Decomposition of mangrove leaf litter in tropical Australia. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 116: 235–247
Robertson, J. R., Newell, S. Y. (1982). Experimental studies of particle ingestion by the sand Fiddler crab Uca pugilator (Bosc). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 59: 1–21
Schroth, M. N., Hildebrand, D. C., O'Reilly, H. J. (1968). Off-flavor of olives from trees with olive knot tumors. Phytopathology 58: 524–525
Sinsabough, R. L., Linkins, A. E., Benfield, E. F. D. (1985). Cellulose digestion and assimilation by three leaf-shredding aquatic insects. Ecology 66: 1464–1471
Staaf, H. (1987). Foliage litter turnover and earthworm populations in three beech forests of contrasting soil and vegetation types. Oecologia 72: 58–64
Trott, T. J., Robertson, J. R. (1984). Chemical stimulants of cheliped flexation behaviour by the western atlantic ghost crab Ocypode quadrata. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 78: 237–252
Walker, J. R. L. (1975) The biology of plant phenolics. In: The Institute of Biology's Studies in Biology, No. 54. Edward Arnold, London
Yasuo, K., Yokoe, Y. (1960). The cellulase activity in gastric juice and hepatopancreas of crayfish. J. Fac. Sci. Tokyo Univ. 9: 31–38
Ziemann, J. C., Macko, S. A., Mills, A. L. (1984). Role of seagrasses and mangroves in estuarine food webs: temporal and spatial changes in stable isotope composition and amino acid content during decomposition. Bull. mar. Sci. 35: 380–392
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Camilleri, J. Leaf choice by crustaceans in a mangrove forest in Queensland. Mar. Biol. 102, 453–459 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00438346
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00438346