Abstract
The feeding preference of the sesarmid crabPerisesarma bidenswas investigated when offered different diets:Enteromorpha intestinalis(algae),Kandelia obovataleaves, and propagules. Nutritional value of food, its assimilation, and fates were evaluated using a combination approach of the fatty acids (FAs) and C/N ratios. When offered a mixed diet, male crabs preferred algae than leaves and/or propagules, while a female preference was equally for leaves and algae but less than propagules. The nutritional value of algae was higher as indicated by low C : N ratios and highω3/ω6ratios than leaves and propagules. FAs comparison of tissues and faeces indicated that crabs efficiently assimilate essential fatty acids (EFAs) from a given diet in the order of algae greater than leaves and propagules. Despite of sesarmid crabs being a mangrove leaf-eater,E. intestinaliscan potentially be important source of nitrogen supplement forP. bidensunder mangrove forests.
Highlights
Sesarmid crabs are the most abundant benthic fauna inhabiting mangrove ecosystems of the Indo-Pacific region [1, 2]
Crab faeces contained a significantly lower carbon and nitrogen content when fed on algae (26.4± 0.5 and 0.9 ± 0.0 mg g−1, resp., multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), Student-Newman-Keul’s test (S-N-K) multiple comparison on diets before and after gut, P < .0001).These results indicate that P. bidens had significantly high intake of both nitrogen and carbon from algae, nitrogen but not carbon from brown leaves, and only carbon from propagules
Unlike most of the previous studies which investigated crab food choice based on variation in leaf types and species [3, 19,20,21], the preference of P. bidens on algae E. intestinalis over K. obovata leaves and propagules was tested in this study
Summary
Sesarmid crabs are the most abundant benthic fauna inhabiting mangrove ecosystems of the Indo-Pacific region [1, 2]. They play a vital ecological role in the mangrove foodweb as leaf litter processors [3, 4]. Leaf-eating crabs must supplement their diet with nitrogen from other resources [9]. These include algae, bacteria, ingestion of their own faeces colonized by macroorganisms, or grazing on surface sediments [4, 7, 10]. Previous studies have suggested that crabs show food selective preferences depending on the food nutritional values, varieties, and accessibility [11, 12]
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