Mechanisms of possible self-limitation in the invasive Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus

Blaine D Griffen,James Bailey,Jade Carver,Lars Anderson,Ashley Vernier,Ben Potter,Morgan Meidell,Eleanor R Dinuzzo

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-74053-5

Blaine D Griffen, James Bailey + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74053-5

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Oct 9, 2020
Citations: 9	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Brigham Young University

Abstract

Population sizes of invasive species are commonly characterized by boom-bust dynamics, and self-limitation via resource depletion is posited as one factor leading to these boom-bust changes in population size. Yet, while this phenomenon is well-documented in plants, few studies have demonstrated that self-limitation is possible for invasive animal species, especially those that are mobile. Here we examined the invasive Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus, a species that reached very high abundances throughout invaded regions of North America, but has recently declined in many of these same regions. We examined the relationship between diet, energy storage, reproduction, and growth in crabs collected from the New Hampshire coast. We show that energy storage and reproduction both increase with diet quality, while growth declines with diet quality. These results suggest that self-limitation may be a contributing factor to the recent declines of H. sanguineus at sites where this invader was once much more abundant. Further, these results suggest a diet-associated tradeoff in energy allocation to different vital rates, with a focus on reproduction when high quality resources are consumed, and a focus instead on growth when poor quality resources are consumed.

Highlights

Population sizes of invasive species are commonly characterized by boom-bust dynamics, and self-limitation via resource depletion is posited as one factor leading to these boom-bust changes in population size
Terms: “self-limitation” AND “invasive species”; or the terms “resource depletion” AND “invasive species” AND “reproduction”; or the terms “density dependent” AND “invasive species” AND “reproduction”) yielded numerous studies in plant systems, but only three studies in animal systems that have demonstrated the possibility for self-limitation, and none of them demonstrated a mechanistic link between resource availability and population vital rates[21,22,23]
We examined long-term diet quality, energy storage, reproductive effort, and growth of individual H. sanguineus collected on the New Hampshire coast where this species has been present and abundant for 20 years

Summary

Introduction

Population sizes of invasive species are commonly characterized by boom-bust dynamics, and self-limitation via resource depletion is posited as one factor leading to these boom-bust changes in population size. In addition to the amount of food, diet quality can alter vital rates[16,17] This can occur because of life history tradeoffs that set in when resources are limited[18], where energy or nutrient shortfalls limit the ability of individual organisms to simultaneously achieve optimal performance in survival, growth, and reproduction. All these examples demonstrate mechanisms through which self-limitation via food availability or quality can limit the growth of a population. Terms: “self-limitation” AND “invasive species”; or the terms “resource depletion” AND “invasive species” AND “reproduction”; or the terms “density dependent” AND “invasive species” AND “reproduction”) yielded numerous studies in plant systems, but only three studies in animal systems that have demonstrated the possibility for self-limitation, and none of them demonstrated a mechanistic link between resource availability and population vital rates[21,22,23]

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