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The role of individual learning and dietary preference in the consumption of the invasive Green Porcelain Crab, Petrolisthes armatus, by Native Crab Predators

Crosby, Chelsea Helene
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523887793938929

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources.
Although many predators forage adaptively in response to changes in the abundance of their prey, some predators may be slow to adapt to a novel prey that is added through biological invasion. The invasive Green Porcelain Crab (Petrolisthes armatus) is an abundant potential prey resource for native predators within oyster reef communities along the southeastern coast of the U.S. Yet the species’ invasion success suggests that native predators may not readily consume this novel prey. Here I used an individual learning experiment to examine whether evolutionary history, short-term exposure and previously learned handling skills influenced the foraging behavior and consumption of P. armatus by two native predators, the Atlantic Mud Crab (Panopeus herbstii) and the Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus). Individual predators collected from populations where predators were either naïve or experienced with P. armatus were trained on morphologically similar (e.g. native crab) or dissimilar (e.g. native mussel) prey and then exposed to the invasive P. armatus for five consecutive days. Both species exhibited improvements in aspects of their foraging behavior, which suggests that both species have the ability to learn following short-term exposure to a novel prey. However, naïve P. herbstii did not forage on P. armatus as efficiently as experienced individuals, which suggests that learning occurs over a longer time scale in this species. In contrast, there were few differences in foraging behavior between experienced and naïve populations of C. sapidus, and both populations consumed a high number of the invasive species, which suggests that C. sapidus are relatively neophilic and will readily consume a novel prey species. Finally, naïve C. sapidus trained on similar native prey were quicker to approach the invasive P. armatus, and C. sapidus trained on similar native prey had shorter handling times on the invasive species, suggesting that the predator’s previous diet can influence foraging behavior. I further examined patterns of diet and prey preference in a population of native C. sapidus that has co-occurred with invasive P. armatus for 24 years. Although C. sapidus readily consumes P. armatus when given no-choice of alternative prey, when given a choice between alternative native prey and P. armatus, I found that C. sapidus rarely incorporated P. armatus into its diet. In addition, I found very limited within- population, individual variation in diet of C. sapidus. This is in contrast to previous work demonstrating that native P. herbstii predators exhibit considerable individual variation in diet, with some individual predators beginning to specialize on the invasive P. armatus, but others avoiding the species completely. These findings suggest that both native predators exert limited predation pressure (i.e. partial enemy release) on P. armatus, which likely contributes to its continued invasion success.
Lauren Pintor, PhD (Advisor)
Suzanne Gray, PhD (Committee Member)
Susan Gershman, PhD (Committee Member)
168 p.
Animals; Aquatic Sciences; Climate Change; Conservation; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies
Individual Learning; Biological Invasions; Dietary Behavior; Predator Prey Interactions; Enemy Release; Biotic Resistance; Skill Transfer; Blue Crab; Callinectes sapidus; Atlantic Mud Crab; Panopeus herbstii; Green Porcelain Crab; Petrolisthes armatus

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Citations

  • Crosby, C. H. (2018). The role of individual learning and dietary preference in the consumption of the invasive Green Porcelain Crab, Petrolisthes armatus, by Native Crab Predators [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523887793938929

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Crosby, Chelsea. The role of individual learning and dietary preference in the consumption of the invasive Green Porcelain Crab, Petrolisthes armatus, by Native Crab Predators. 2018. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523887793938929.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Crosby, Chelsea. "The role of individual learning and dietary preference in the consumption of the invasive Green Porcelain Crab, Petrolisthes armatus, by Native Crab Predators." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523887793938929

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1523887793938929
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