Intersexual differences in the mudballs of Uca annulipes (Decapoda: Ocypodidae)

Abstract

This study investigated the features of mudballs produced by male and female Uca annulipes. Both sexes formed mudballs from mud excavated from within the burrow during the final hour of the low tide period. Males placed the centre of the mudball aggregation and the furthest mudball significantly further from the burrow than females. These observations suggest that the placement of male mudballs was not simply a by-product of burrow excavation.