Abstract
ABSTRACT Adopting circatidal vertical migration, catadromous crab megalopae use flood tide transport (FTT) to reach the settlement or nursery habitat and moult at a high rate that mismatches the low food-availability en route. To explain this “mismatch problem,” we hypothesize that besides development, starvation also affects megalopae’s transport so that the starved ones with low moulting possibility cannot succeed migration. The hypothesis was tested by studying how starvation affected rhythmic vertical migration of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) megalopae. The findings support our hypothesis by showing that starvation weakened the vertical migration of the megalopae. The results also revealed that starvation caused the residual vertical migration of the megalopae to follow a circadian rhythm in addition to circatidal rhythm. We conclude that for catadromous crab megalopae, transport, just as development, is controlled by nutrition; and there exists a trade-off between the development and transport of Chinese mitten crab megalopae .
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
