Abstract
Ghost crabs are common bioindicator species for human disturbance on sandy shores. Ghost crabs often alter their population dynamics under human disturbance. Ghost crabs, further, alter their burrowing behavior under human influence, however, these changes are not well known on the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, burrowing morphology of Ocypode cursor at two sites that differ in the degree of human disturbance was compared. Ghost crabs created smaller, steeper and simpler burrows at the site under higher human disturbance compared to the crabs living at the sites with lower human influence. Further, there was no difference in the ghost crab burrow depth and the frequency of existence of chambers between sites. Moreover, the results of this study revealed that larger crabs preferred higher parts of the beach at both sites, suggesting that this is a common behavior for the populations of O. cursor. Consequently, the results of this study emphasized that O. cursor alter their burrowing morphology and characteristics under human disturbance besides their population demographics; suggesting that studies that focus on the use of ghost crabs for human disturbance should include burrow morphology in their assessments.
Publisher
Ege University Faculty of Fisheries
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences,General Environmental Science
Reference27 articles.
1. Anadolu Ajansı (2021, Haziran). Kısıtlama sınırlamalarının kaldırılması haberi, Mayıs 2020 [Basin bülteni]. Erişim adresi https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-sehirlerarasi-seyahat-sinirlamasi-1-hazirandan-itibaren-tamamiyla-kaldirilmistir/1856552
2. Bal, M., Yapan, B. Ç., & Özkan, K. (2021). The response of Tufted Ghost Crab, Ocypode cursor, populations to recreational activities in an urbanized coast with small-scale protected zones. Zoology in the Middle East, 67(1), 32- 41. DOI:10.1080/09397140.2021.1877383
3. Carignan, V., & Villard, M.A. (2002). Selecting indicator species to monitor ecological integrity: A review. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 78(1), 45–61.
4. Chan, B.K.K., Chan, K.K.Y., & Leung, P.C.M. (2006). Burrow architecture of ghost crab Ocypode ceratophthalma on a sandy shore in Hong Kong. Hydrobiologia, 560(1), 43- 49. DOI:10.1007/s10750-005-1088-2
5. Costa, L.L., Soares-Gomes, A., & Zalmon, I.R. (2021). Burrow occupation rates and spatial distribution within habitat of the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787): Implications for impact assessments. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 44, 101699. DOI:10.1016/j.rsma.2021.101699
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献