Journal
ANIMALS
Volume 12, Issue 7, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ani12070918
Keywords
shelter preference; Eriocheir sinensis; habitat selection; concealing behavior
Funding
- National Key R&D Program of China [2020YFD0900805]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31972795]
- Shanghai Chinese Mitten Crab Modern Agricultural Industrial Technology System Project [2017-4]
- Species Resources Protection Project of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs [17200308]
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The preference for shelters varies among different developmental stages of Chinese Mitten Crabs (Eriocheir sinensis). Juvenile crabs prefer grass, button-sized crabs prefer mud, and parent crabs prefer rocks. Light, size, feeding habit, predation, and molting are critical factors that affect shelter preference. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the habits of E. sinensis and provide a reference for resource restoration, habitat construction, and restoration of E. sinensis.
Simple Summary Shelter is closely correlated with growth and development of aquatic crustaceans. Aquatic crustaceans often prefer to live in shelters to forage and avoid predators. In this study, Chinese Mitten Crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) at different developmental stages were selected to analyze preference for shelters. These results indicated that juvenile crabs had a significant preference for grass; button-sized crabs preferred to hide in mud; and the favorite shelters for parent crabs were rocks. Moreover, light, size, feeding habit, predation and molting were critical factors that affect the preference for shelters of E. sinensis. A shelter is a good habitat for aquatic organisms, which could aid in avoiding cannibalism and facilitate predation. Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is an important aquaculture species with troglodytism and nocturnal habit. To clarify the preference for shelters at different developmental stages of E. sinensis, different shelters (mud, sand, grass and rocks) were selected for comparison. These results indicated that juvenile crabs had a significant preference for grass; button-sized crabs preferred to hide in mud; and the favorite shelters for parent crabs were rocks, followed by mud. E. sinensis in three stages all showed concealing behavior. The concealing behavior of juvenile crabs was the most significant, followed by button-sized and parent crabs. Additionally, E. sinensis held a low hiding rate at night but a high hiding rate during the daytime due to nocturnal habits. These findings will help to better understand the habits of E. sinensis and provide a reference for resource restoration, habitat construction and the restoration of E. sinensis.
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