Crayfish chelae usage suggests predominantly ambidextrous habitude
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Abstract
Heterochely is an important feature in some marine decapod crustaceans, but it is seldom investigated in freshwater crayfish. In this study, we applied a biometrical analysis targeting wild populations of three European crayfish species, Astacus leptodactylus, Astacus astacus, and Austropotamobius torrentium, as well as one invasive North American species, Faxonius limosus. Field data were combined with video-recorded observations to understand the usage of chelae in laboratory experiments for A. leptodactylus and F. limosus. According to biometrical measurements, heterochely was evenly distributed between species and sexes in wild populations, leading to the assumption that there is no specific pattern in chela size. Moreover, we found that the ambidextrous usage of chelae is a commonly encountered behaviour in crayfish, since no significant relationship was found between their chelae and asymmetry. This behaviour could maximize the chances of survival for crayfish in general, since losing one or both chelae is often recorded in the wild.
Résumé
L’hétérochélie est une caractéristique importante chez certains crustacés décapodes marins, mais a rarement été étudiée chez les écrevisses d’eau douce. Dans cette étude nous avons appliqué une analyse biométrique sur des populations sauvages de trois espèces d’écrevisses européennes, Astacus leptodactylus, Astacus astacus, et Austropotamobius torrentium, et sur une espèce invasive nord américaine Faxonius limosus. Pour comprendre l’usage de la pince les données de terrain ont été combinées avec des observations d’enregistrements vidéo faites au cours d’expériences en laboratoire pour A. leptodactylus et F. limosus. Selon les mesures biométriques, l’hétérochélie a été uniformément distribuée entre les espèces et les sexes des populations sauvages, laissant supposer qu’il n’y a pas de modèle spécifique pour la taille des pinces. De plus, nous avons trouvé que l’usage ambidextre des pinces est un comportement fréquemment rencontré chez les écrevisses, puisqu’aucune relation significative n’a été trouvée entre pinces et asymétrie. Ce comportement pourrait augmenter les chances de survie des écrevisses en général, puisque perdre une ou les deux pinces est souvent observé dans la nature.
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Crayfish chelae usage suggests predominantly ambidextrous habitude
In: CrustaceanaSearch for other papers by Sandra-Florina Lele in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Lucian Pârvulescu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Heterochely is an important feature in some marine decapod crustaceans, but it is seldom investigated in freshwater crayfish. In this study, we applied a biometrical analysis targeting wild populations of three European crayfish species, Astacus leptodactylus, Astacus astacus, and Austropotamobius torrentium, as well as one invasive North American species, Faxonius limosus. Field data were combined with video-recorded observations to understand the usage of chelae in laboratory experiments for A. leptodactylus and F. limosus. According to biometrical measurements, heterochely was evenly distributed between species and sexes in wild populations, leading to the assumption that there is no specific pattern in chela size. Moreover, we found that the ambidextrous usage of chelae is a commonly encountered behaviour in crayfish, since no significant relationship was found between their chelae and asymmetry. This behaviour could maximize the chances of survival for crayfish in general, since losing one or both chelae is often recorded in the wild.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 641 | 86 | 3 |
| Full Text Views | 42 | 15 | 5 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 23 | 11 | 2 |