International Journal of Marine Science, 2016, Vol.6, No.11, 1-10
1
Research Article
Open Access
On burrow morphology of the ghost crab,
Ocypode ceratophthalmus
(Decapoda:
Brachyura: Ocypodidae) from sandy shore of Gujarat, India
Trivedi J.N., Vachhrajani K.D.
Marine Biodiversity and Ecology Lab., Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Corresponding email:
International Journal of Marine Science 2016, Vol.6, No.15 doi:
Received: 16 Dec., 2015
Accepted: 19 Feb., 2016
Published: 23 Feb., 2016
Copyright © 2016 This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Trivedi J.N., and Vachhrajani K.D., 2016, On burrow morphology of the ghost crab,
Ocypode ceratophthalmus
(Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae) from sandy
shore of Gujarat, India, International Journal of Marine Science, 6(15): 1-10 (doi:
Abstract
Burrow morphology of brachyuran crab
Ocypode ceratophthalmus
was studied at two different sites located on the
Saurashtra coast of Gujarat state, India. Diluted resin was poured in the burrows for burrow cast. Crab, if emerged out from the
burrow, was caught and carapace width and sex were recorded. The complete burrow casts were analyzed for various morphological
characters and shapes. The depth wise variation in sediment temperature of the burrow was measured at the depth interval of 5 cm. A
total of 55 intact burrow casts were obtained and 8 different types of burrow shapes were recorded. The crab carapace width showed
significant correlation with burrow opening diameter, burrow volume and burrow total length. The juveniles were observed utilizing
shallow burrow with small opening diameter located near water line while adults were observed utilizing deep burrows with large
diameter located on the upper part of sandy shore. Specific pattern was observed in the burrow temperature in which the burrow
temperature dropped significantly at the greatest depth which provides suitable environment to the crab to survive in the harsh
environmental conditions.
Keywords
Ocypode ceratophthalmus
; Burrow morphology; Sandy shore; Gujarat
1 Introduction
Burrowing behavior is commonly found in the invertebrate inhabiting marine soft sediments. The construction of
various biogenic structures and their maintenance generate complexity of the habitat (Reise, 2002; Kristensen,
2008; Katrak et al., 2008). The burrow morphology is mostly species specific but in the presence of changes in the
physical and biochemical properties of the sediment, the species may modify the structure of burrow to adjust in
the changed environment (Griffis and Suchanek, 1991; Wolfrath, 1992; Griffis and Chavez, 1988). Amongst the
burrowing species, crabs show significant intra specific variation in the burrow morphology with relation to
different environmental and biological factors like sediment composition, vegetation type, shore height, tidal
variation, sex and age of the individual (Takeda and Kurihara, 1987; Morrisey et al., 1999; Lim and Diong, 2003;
Chan et al., 2006).
Crab species of genus
Ocypode
Weber, 1795 (Decapoda, Ocypodidae) are common inhabitants of sandy shores,
mudflats, mangroves and estuarine habitats of tropical and subtropical region (Dahl, 1953; Lucrezi et al., 2009;
Trivedi et al., 2015). They are nocturnal feeders and remain in their burrow during day time (Weinstern, 1995). All
the
Ocypode
species construct semi permanent, deep and complex burrow with circular opening surrounded by
sand mounds and feedings marks of the crabs (Chakrabarti, 1981; Chan et al., 2006). The burrow provides shelter
from harsh environment and predators, and also provides refuge space during molting and mating period of the
crab species (Chakrabarti, 1981; Brown and Maclachlan, 1990; Lucrezi et al., 2009). The
Ocypode
species were
studied extensively for behavior pattern and physiology but studies on burrow morphology are least. According to
Chakrabarty (1981) and Chan et al. (2006), the ghost crab species produce different kinds of burrow shapes like J
shape, Y shape and U shape. The size and shape of the burrows also varies according to the tidal level and shore
type.
Ocypode ceratophthalmus
is widely distributed ghost crab species in Indo- Pacific region (Ng et al., 2008).
In Gujarat, the species occurs in high abundance on the upper part of sandy shores (Trivedi et al., 2012; Trivedi
and Vachhrajani, 2012). In the present study, we have correlated the burrow morphology and position of burrow
