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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Variable Functional Responses Of A Marine Predator In Dissimilar Homogeneous Microhabitats, Rn Lipcius, Anson Hines
Variable Functional Responses Of A Marine Predator In Dissimilar Homogeneous Microhabitats, Rn Lipcius, Anson Hines
VIMS Articles
Adult soft-shelled clams (Mya arenaria) persist at low densities in Chesapeake Bay sandy habitats despite Intense predation by blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). Clam persistence may be a consequence of variation in blue crab foraging rates as a function of clam density and sediment composition. In laboratory aquaria, we measured the functional responses (prey consumption per predator as a function of prey density) of large blue crabs to six densities of adult soft-shelled clams buried at natural depths in two sediment types (mud and sand). Functional responses in sand and mud were differentiated statistically by analyses of(1) residuals and residual sums …
Factors Regulating Settlement And Microhabitat Use By Spiny Lobsters Panulirus Argus, William F. Herrnkind, Mark J. Butler Iv
Factors Regulating Settlement And Microhabitat Use By Spiny Lobsters Panulirus Argus, William F. Herrnkind, Mark J. Butler Iv
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Clumps of highly-branched red algae Laurencia spp. serve as important settling habitat for postlarval spiny lobsters Panulirus argus and as residence for early benthic-stage juveniles. Given choice between the 2 most abundant macrophytes in Florida Bay, Laurencia spp. and the seagrass Thalassia testudinum, postlarval and juvenile lobsters chose Laurencia spp. Postlarvae apparently use intricate algal architecture as a cue for settlement, whereas juveniles use both architecture and food abundance in selecting habitat. In tethering experiments, predation on juvenile lobsters was very high on open sand, much reduced in algal clumps and seagrass, and lowest in dense algal meadows. Predation …