Journal
JOURNAL OF ETHOLOGY
Volume 29, Issue 1, Pages 115-120Publisher
SPRINGER JAPAN KK
DOI: 10.1007/s10164-010-0232-2
Keywords
Aggression; Crayfish; Competition; Invasive species; Marbled crayfish; Marmorkrebs; Louisiana red swamp crayfish; Procambarus clarkii
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [IOS-0813581]
- Research Experience for Undergraduates program [DBI-0649273]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The parthenogenetic marbled crayfish, Marmorkrebs, has no known wild population, but has been introduced into natural ecosystems in two continents. Interactions with native crayfish, particularly through fighting, could affect the ecological impact of Marmorkrebs introductions. Marmorkrebs have been characterized anecdotally as having low levels of aggression, which could mitigate their potential to compete with native species. We isolated Marmorkrebs and Louisiana red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), then conducted size-matched intra and interspecific pairings. Marmorkrebs were as likely to win a fight as P. clarkii, although contests between P. clarkii and Marmorkrebs began significantly faster than contests between two Marmorkrebs. These results suggest that Marmorkrebs have the potential to compete with other species on the same level as P. clarkii, which is itself a highly successful introduced species around the world.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available