Ecology and behavior of Gecarcoidea natalis, the Christmas Island red crab, during the annual breeding migration.

The terrestrial crab Gecarcoidea natalis is endemic to the forests of Christmas Island but must migrate each year to the coast to breed. During 1993 and 1995, radio-tracking, mark and recapture, and counting methods were used to establish the routes, walking speeds, direction of travel, and destinations of migrating crabs, as well as crab numbers and distribution. The density of crabs ranged from 0.09 to 0.57 crabs per square meter, which gave a population estimate of 43.7 million adult crabs on the island. During the dry season the crabs were relatively inactive but on arrival of the wet season immediately began their migration. The crabs generally walked in straight lines, and most crabs from around the Island traveled toward the northwest shore instead of simply walking toward the nearest shore. The maximum recorded distance walked by a red crab in one day was 1460 m, but the mean was 680 m per day in 1993 and 330 m in 1995. Comparing the 1993 and 1995 study seasons, there was a 3-week difference in the timing of the start of the migration, but the spawning date was fixed by the lunar phase and took place 17 to 18 days after mating. In 1993, late rain prompted a "rushed" migration and crabs walked directly to their shore destinations; in contrast, in 1995 most crabs made stops of 1 to 7 days during the downward migration. By giving the crabs a chance to feed along the way and minimizing the time that the population was concentrated near the shore, these stops may be important in ensuring that the animals have enough food after the long dry season. Furthermore, this behavior implies that the crabs are able to judge how far away they are from the shore during the migration.     

Respiratory gas transport, metabolic status, and locomotor capacity of the Christmas Island red crab Gecarcoidea natalis assessed in the field with respect to dichotomous seasonal activity levels

Red crabs, Gecarcoidea natalis, exhibit seasonal activity patterns: low activity during the dry season when they shelter in burrows to avoid dehydration, and high activity during the wet season. Red crabs were examined in situ in the rainforest of Christmas Island to determine if there were underlying seasonal differences in the capacity for exercise and associated metabolism. During both seasons, free-ranging (FR) crabs engaged in their normal activities and, together with crabs induced to exercise for 5 min, were sampled for haemolymph and muscle tissue. Respiratory gases in the haemolymph and key metabolites were measured to assess differences in metabolic status of FR and exercised crabs. Actively foraging FR crabs during the wet season exhibited a relative haemolymph hypoxia (2.9 kPa) and accumulated an extra 3 mmol. litre(-1) of CO(2) compared to the relatively inactive FR crabs during the dry season. Wet-season crabs appeared to be in a state of relative respiratory acidosis compared to dry-season animals. This hypercapnia may arise as a consequence of a relative hypoventilation in animals with a relatively higher metabolic rate during the wet season. Oxygenation of pulmonary and arterial haemolymph was similar and remained high after 5 min of exercise, indicating that the gills and lungs functioned similarly in gas exchange in both FR and exercised crabs. During exercise, venous O(2) reserves decreased and red crabs experienced a mixed respiratory/metabolic acidosis. Similar changes, after 5 min of enforced exercise, in metabolite concentrations, pH and respiratory gas status in the haemolymph during both sampling seasons suggest that the crabs maintain similar capacity to increase exercise during the wet and the dry seasons, despite the differences in underlying physiological status. This is important since after prolonged inactivity during the dry season, with the arrival of moonsoonal rains, red crabs must engage in their annual breeding migration.     

A single panmictic population of endemic red crabs,Gecarcoidea natalis,on Christmas Island with high levels of genetic diversity

The red crab, Gecarcoidea natalis, is endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean and largely responsible for shaping the unique ecosystem found throughout the island’s rainforests. However, the introduction and establishment of supercolonies of the highly invasive yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes, has decimated red crab numbers over the last several decades. This poses a significant risk to the future conservation of G. natalis and consequently threatens the integrity of the unique island ecosystem. Here we undertook a population genetic analysis of G. natalis using a combination of 11 microsatellite markers and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene from samples collected on Christmas Island as well as a single location from North Keeling Island (located approximately 900 km west of Christmas Island). The genetic results indicate that G. natalis is a single panmictic population on Christmas Island, with no spatial genetic structure or restricted gene flow apparent between sampled locations. Further, G. natalis from North Keeling Island are not genetically distinct and are recent immigrants from Christmas Island. The effective population size of G. natalis has likely remained large and stable on Christmas Island throughout its evolutionary history with relatively moderate to high levels of genetic diversity in microsatellite loci and mitochondrial haplotypes assessed in this study. For management purposes G. natalis can be considered a single panmictic population, which should simplify conservation efforts for the genetic management of this iconic island species.     

The nitrogen requirements and dietary nitrogen utilization for the gecarcinid land crab Gecarcoidea natalis

The nitrogen requirements for tissue maintenance, moulting, and oogenesis were determined experimentally for the herbivorous land crab Gecarcoidea natalis. The maintenance nitrogen requirements for intermoult animals was very low (4.83+/-1.68 mmol N kg-1 dry body wt d-1), but during oogenesis the total requirement was much higher (8. 6 mmol N kg-1 dry body wt d-1). Gecarcoidea natalis could potentially assimilate enough nitrogen from rain forest leaf litter or leaves of Ficus or Erythrina to satisfy not only the maintenance nitrogen requirements but the observed rate of incorporation of nitrogen into the ovaries during oogenesis. The ovaries developed slowly over a period of 2 mo (mid-July to late September) and had a final nitrogen content of 359+/-15.9 (n=18) mmol kg-1 dry body wt. This was equivalent to 9.3%+/-0.4% of the total body nitrogen. A substantial nitrogen debt was incurred during ecdysis (658+/-126 mmol kg-1 dry body wt). This nitrogen debt could be satisfied slowly, from leaf litter, over a period of 1-3 mo. After ecdysis, the majority of the nitrogen and urate within the animal prior to moulting was retained within the soft crab (85.0%+/-1.2% total nitrogen, 82.0%+/-1.2% nonurate nitrogen and 99.56% urate), while only a minority was lost with the exuviae (18.0%+/-1.2% total nitrogen, 14.7%+/-1.2% nonurate nitrogen, and 0.4%+/-0.4% urate). The urate deposits in G. natalis were not mobilized as a source of nitrogen in animals maintained on a nitrogen-free diet.     

Utilisation of glycogen,ATP and arginine phosphate in exercise and recovery in terrestrial red crabs,Gecarcoidea natalis

Intermittent locomotion by terrestrial crustaceans may under specific circumstances increase walking distance and may allow partial re-oxidization of anaerobic products, and replenishment of ATP and arginine phosphate. The Christmas Island red crab G. natalis undertakes a substantial breeding migration each year. The leg muscles of G. natalis subjected to bouts of 2.5 min walking and 2.5 min rest were severely anaerobic. Adenylate energy charge and the large arginine phosphate stores were greatly reduced. Walking for 4 min with pauses of only 1 min exacerbated the anaerobiosis and utilised 50% of the endogenous muscle glycogen. Post-exercise, the adenylate energy charge recovered before the arginine phosphate charge and a large and persistent hyperglycaemia accompanied the restoration of glycogen. Arginine phosphate functioned as a large, longer term, energy reservoir-almost as part of the adenylate pool. Gluconeogenesis is yet to be generally substantiated in decapod crustaceans but G. natalis appears to remove lactate slowly and to reincorporate exogenous glucose into muscle glycogen in the same time frame as lactate removal from the haemolymph. The 4:1 exercise/pause regimen facilitated access to energy stores and increased walking distance, and it allowed L-lactate and H(+) efflux from the muscle during pausing. These responses are similar to those of G. natalis in the field, except during the migration when walking was entirely aerobic. Determinations of adenylate, fuel and arginine phosphate reserves and usage during the migration are required together with more detailed behavioral analysis to resolve the dichotomy in metabolic response.     

Explaining annual fluctuations in breeding density of fieldfares Turdus pilaris– combined influences of factors operating during breeding, migration and wintering

In a subalpine birch forest in Central Norway, the breeding population of fieldfare Turdus pilaris varied from 3 to 63 pairs per km² during 1966–2000. For the period 1971–1995, the breeding density was negatively related to the number of days with >75% snow covered ground in April, presumably because snow cover reduce the availability of earthworms. In a multiple regression model for the period 1974–1995, snow cover in spring, the number of migrating fieldfares observed at two ornithological stations at the southern coast of Norway in April, the mean temperature in November in the preceding year, winter temperatures, rowanberry production in the previous autumn, and the interaction effect of the two latter variables (high value of one of these variables reduced the negative effect of a low value of the other) explained 80% of the variation in fieldfare breeding density. Autumn and winter temperatures, as well as rowanberry production, contributed through a positive effect, probably because these factors affected the number of fieldfare present in Norway throughout winter, which in some years may constitute a significant proportion of the overall fieldfare population.     

Of crustacean blood and ant infection: Life in the migration exclusion zone,Christmas Island,Australia

This paper is framed by the cultural politics of nationhood in contemporary Australia and particularly by the ways in which the nation has sought to produce borders that have manifested themselves as altered cartographic boundaries and exclusion zones. The paper itself is concerned with life on Christmas Island, and is focused on the ways in which multiethnic Christmas Island locals use blood metaphors drawn from the Island’s native Christmas Island red crabs and alien, predatory yellow ants, to articulate patterns of human movement and migration into island space. The metaphors reveal coalescences between the body of the self, the other, nature, and the island place. I explore these coalescences to present a picture of migration and movement from the perspective of those who live within the migration exclusion zone.     

Sufficiency of horseshoe crab eggs for red knots during spring migration stopover in Delaware Bay USA

Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs are a dietary staple of the red knot (Calidris canutus) during its spring stopover on the Delaware Bay. Numbers of knots stopping in Delaware Bay declined in the 1990s concurrent with a decline in horseshoe crabs, leading to the hypothesis that reduced horseshoe crab egg abundance limited the red knot population. Management efforts, including a seasonal harvest moratorium in the Delaware Bay, have been instituted to restore crab populations to levels of sustainable use by multiple users, including migratory birds. Our objective was to evaluate the sufficiency of horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay in May–June 2004 and 2005 for knots to refuel for their migratory flight to the Arctic breeding grounds. We examined egg counts to determine if there were fewer high egg-density sites later than earlier in the day and season, as migrating birds might deplete this resource. We studied foraging rates at red knot locations to determine if foraging probes increased with time of day and season as birds depleted surface eggs by pecking, then began probing for subsurface eggs. Finally, we experimentally tested whether red knots and their competitors depleted horseshoe crab eggs. Crab egg numbers at knot foraging sites did not decline throughout the day or season in 2004. In both years, we found no evidence that knots switched from pecking to probing with increases in time since sunrise or start of the stopover. Egg numbers were similar in exclosed and accessible plots on crab nesting depressions and in areas of open intertidal zone, but were significantly lower in accessible than in exclosed plots in the wrack line. Our results indicate that horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay were sufficient to support the refueling of the present-day stopover population of red knots. If an increase in the availability of crab eggs to foraging birds does not result in an increase in knot numbers, managers must prioritize mitigation of limiting factors at other historically important spring stopovers and on the poorly understood breeding and wintering grounds in addition to the Delaware Bay. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Sleep, respiratory physiology, and nocturnal asthma.

The nocturnal worsening of asthma is a common feature of this disease that recently has received extensive investigation. Most recent efforts have focused on the role of circadian biorhythms that could promote a nocturnal increase in airway inflammation, leading to a subsequent increase in airflow obstruction and asthma symptoms. However, definitive studies remain lacking. As discussed in this review, there is also substantial evidence that sleep itself may play a direct role in the nocturnal worsening of asthma. Potential mechanisms for such a sleep-related effect could include the supine posture, alterations in sympathetic and parasympathetic "balance," sleep-associated reductions in lung volume, intrapulmonary pooling of blood, and sleep-associated upper airway narrowing, both with and without snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). These potential contributors to this troublesome phenomenon deserve further consideration when investigating mechanisms of nocturnal asthma.     

Population status and breeding season chronology of Heard Island fur seals

Fur seals were eliminated by sealers at Heard Island soon after its discovery in the 1850s. The first recorded breeding of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) since sealing was reported in early 1963 (two pups). The most recent survey of the Heard Island fur-seal population was undertaken between November 2000 and March 2001, when 1,012 Antarctic fur-seal pups were born. This represents a fourfold increase since the last complete census in 1987/1988 (13 years), when 248 births were recorded. Pup estimates and counts available for eight breeding seasons since 1962/1963 suggest the population has been increasing at between 12 and 20% per year. Based on pup production, the breeding population is estimated to number approximately 4,100 seals. The number of fur seals on Heard Island peaked in late February/early March at 29,256 indicating that, in addition to the breeding population, a significant number of seals born elsewhere haul out on the island. Most of these are moulting sub-adult and adult males. As in 1987/1988, only one subantarctic fur-seal pup (A. tropicalis) was observed, suggesting this species is not colonising the island, as has been speculated.     

Gastric processing and evacuation during emersion in the red rock crab, Cancer productus

The passage of a radio-opaque meal was followed through the digestive system of the red rock crab, Cancer productus, using a fluoroscope. When the crabs were maintained in seawater, the food was apparent in the foregut as soon as the animals had fed. Release of food from the foregut was routinely slow and digesta appeared in the midgut only in small amounts at any one time. The foregut was emptied between 24 and 36 h, digesta was cleared from the midgut region at 36 h and by 48 h only a small amount of residual digesta was left in the posterior part of the hindgut. Contractions of the cardiac region of the foregut were somewhat sporadic and ranged between 6 and 11 min^-1. Contractions of the pyloric region were more stable, varying between 45-65 min^-1. In both cases, there was no change in rate during 18 h period in seawater. When crabs were subjected to both short- and long-term aerial exposure, release of food from the foregut was halted for the first 4-6 h of emersion. Although, small amounts of digesta appeared in the midgut and hindgut, there was no significant change in the amount in each region during emersion. There was a trend towards a depression of cardiac stomach contraction rates, but this was only significant in 3 h postprandial crabs during short-term emersion. A pronounced decrease in pyloric stomach contraction rate was maintained for the duration of the aerial exposure. When crabs were returned to seawater, contraction rates took 3-5 h to return to normal, but no significant change in gastric evacuation was observed during this period. During re-immersion, over 65% of the animals regurgitated the stomach contents. This regurgitation may act as a protective mechanism to avoid digestion and the subsequent specific dynamic action. The decrease in gastric processing in C. productus is probably part of an overall metabolic depression occurring during emersion.     

Seasonal and annual variation in the diet of breeding and non-breeding Wilson's storm-petrels on King George Island, South Shetland Islands

The diet of breeding and non-breeding Wilson's storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) was analysed over four breeding seasons on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, in order to test if there are changes in diet composition within and between seasons. Krill was the most important food item, followed by myctophid fish and amphipods. Breeding birds showed a clear seasonal pattern of diet, with krill decreasing and alternative prey increasing from the incubation to the chick-rearing period. Non-breeders were not found to change their diet composition. The data suggest that Wilson's storm-petrels selectively choose alternative prey to krill in order to meet the nutrient demands of their chicks. In years of low food availability, Wilson's storm-petrels may have a limited option of prey choice.     

The vocalizations of the Christmas Island Warbler Acrocephalus aequinoctialis, an island endemic

We describe the vocalizations of the Christmas Island Warbler Acrocephalus aequinoctialis , endemic to Christmas and Washington Islands, central Pacific Ocean, in the absence of other land birds and natural predators. Its vocal signals are simple when compared to most Acrocephalus. We explain this simplicity as the result of a lack of interspecific interactions, a monogamous life style, large permanent territories, open dry habitat and limited interaction among neighbouring individuals.     

Sensory physiology and behavior of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) postlarvae during horizontaltransport

Adult blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) live in estuaries and release larvae near the entrances to estuaries. Larvae are then transported offshore to continental shelf areas where they undergo development. Postlarvae, or megalopae, remain near the surface and undergo reverse diel vertical migration. The behaviors underlying this migration pattern are responses to light and a solar day rhythm in activity, in which megalopae are active during the day and inactive at night. Onshore transport probably occurs by wind‐generated surface currents. Once in the vicinity of an estuary, megalopae move up the estuary by selective tidal stream transport, in which they swim in the water column on rising tides at night and are on or near the bottom at all other times. Light inhibits swimming during the day. The ascent into the water column on nocturnal rising tides does not result from a biological rhythm in activity, but rather is cued by the rate of increase in salinity during rising tides. Megalopae have separatebehavioural responses in coastal/shelf areas and in estuaries, which are induced by chemical cues in offshore and estuarine waters.     

Ventilation and control of acid-base status during temperature acclimation in the crab,Cancer magister

Summary Frequencies of scaphognathite (ventilatory,f _sc) and heart (f _h) pumping, oxygen consumption ( ), and hemolymph oxygen, carbon dioxide and pH levels were measured in adult Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) during 7–10 day periods of exposure to 7, 12, and 17°C seawater. Ventilation volume ( ) was calculated for individual animals fromf _sc and a previously determined relationship between stroke volume and animal mass. increases (Q₁₀=2.3) with temperature were associated with larger increases inf _sc (Q₁₀=3.3) and (Q₁₀=3.5) and smaller increases inf _h (Q₁₀=1.5). The incidence of unilateral scaphognathite pumping and pausing decreased as temperature rose.Postbranchial oxygen tension was maintained in vivo but hemolymph oxygen content decreased both in vivo and in vitro as temperature rose. Postbranchial carbon dioxide tension did not change significantly but relative alkalinity was maintained as temperature rose by loss of hemolymph bicarbonate. The effects of increased ventilation volume and potential mechanisms of bicarbonate regulation are discussed.The responses of the essentially subtidalCancer magister are compared with those of subtidal, intertidal and terrestrial crabs demonstrating that the concepts of acid-base regulation developed for water and air breathing vertebrates are also applicable to water and air breathing crabs, and that intertidal crabs may exhibit transitional states.This work was supported by Grant No. A.5762 National Research Council of Canada