Hermit crab houses: an analysis of shell selection patterns in three Monterey Bay Pagurus Species
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Hermit crabs are widespread detritivores in intertidal ecosystems. They are crustaceans that spend their lives inside the empty shells of deceased snails, using the shells for growth, reproduction, and protection. As a result, they are entirely dependent on snail populations, and any shift in these snail populations due to climate change or other anthropogenic factors could significantly impact hermit crab populations. Prior research suggests that different species have preferences for different types of shells. This study would investigate the shell preferences of Pagurus samuelis, Pagurus hirsutiusculus, and Pagurus granosimanus, the three most common hermit crabs in Monterey Bay rocky intertidal zones, and determine whether or not competition impacts their shell selection. Preliminary experiments involved removing individuals from their shells, placing them in a tank with an array of different shells, and recording which shells they ultimately chose to inhabit. Species were tested in isolation, so that interspecific competition did not affect shell selection. My results demonstrated that both P. samuelis and P. hirsutiusculus have a significant preference for Tegula funebralis shells, though the preference was much more pronounced for P. samuelis . P. granosimanus exhibited no significant preferences. Should I receive funding, future work will expand the sample size to verify the trends from the initial experiment. Future experiments will also involve multi-species trials to assess how competition affect shell selection. Finally, ecosystem-level experiments would be useful to determine how a change in snail populations might impact each species of hermit crab.
Description
| Type of resource | text, Dataset |
|---|---|
| Date modified | December 5, 2022 |
| Publication date | February 9, 2022; June 9, 2019 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Shepherd, Cole |
|---|
Subjects
| Subject | Hermit crabs |
|---|---|
| Subject | Pagurus samuelis |
| Subject | Pagurus hirsutiusculus |
| Subject | Pagurus granosimanus |
| Subject | Animal behavior |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Report |
| Genre | Code |
| Genre | Data |
| Genre | Tabular data |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Computer program |
| Genre | Data sets |
| Genre | Dataset |
| Genre | Tables (data) |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-SA).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Shepherd, C. (2022). Hermit crab houses: an analysis of shell selection patterns in three Monterey Bay Pagurus Species. Stanford Digital Repository. Final report for BIOHOPK47. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/cd709pq3888
Collection
BIOHOPK 47: Introduction to Research in Ecology and Ecological Physiology
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- hms-library@lists.stanford.edu
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...