Callianassa Tyrrhena Research Articles

Contribution of the volatile components from fresh egg, adult female and male of Pestarella tyrrhena to odour production

Abstract Shrimps, including Pestarella tyrrhena , are highly susceptible to deterioration whereas odour production has been indicated as one of the factors determining the perishability and bait potential of shrimps. In this study, volatile components generated from fresh egg, adult female and male of P. tyrrhena were assessed using two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry to understand their contribution to odour production. Alkenes, alkynes, alcohols, aldehydes, a ketone, acids, esters, an amine, sulphur-containing and miscellaneous compounds were detected. Meanwhile, adult females and males of P. tyrrhena had a higher number of these volatile compounds. The detection of 2-methyl propan-1-ol with pungent odour only in the male sample of P. tyrhenna suggests that the male of this shrimp species may not completely attract fishes to hooks. Overall, the study established shrimp developmental stage and sex as additional factors influencing the production of volatile compounds, flavour/aroma/odour and fishing bait attributes of P. tyrrhena. Detection of N-nitrosodimethylamine (a carcinogen) in the shrimp samples, particularly the adult male, calls for caution in their direct human consumption and use as fishing bait.

Abdominal setae and midgut bacteria of the mudshrimp Pestarella tyrrhena

Abstract We investigated the diversity of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes occurring on the abdominal setal tufts and in the emptied midgut of the marine mudshrimp Pestarella tyrrhena (Decapoda: Thalassinidea). There were no dominant phylotypes on the setal tufts. The majority of the phylotypes belonged to the phylum Bacteroidetes, frequently occurring in the water column. The rest of the phylotypes were related to anoxygenic photosynthetic α-Proteobacteria and to Actinobacteria. This bacterial profile seems more of a marine assemblage rather than a specific one suggesting that no specific microbial process can be inferred on the setal tufts. In the emptied midgut, 64 clones were attributed to 16 unique phylotypes with the majority (40.6%) belonging to the γ-Proteobacteria, specifically to the genus Vibrio, a marine group with known symbionts of decapods. The next most abundant group was the ɛ-Proteobacteria (28.1%), with members as likely symbionts related to the processes involving redox reactions occurring in the midgut. In addition, phylotypes related to the Spirochaetes (10.9%) were also present, with relatives capable of symbiosis conducting a nitrite associated metabolism. Entomoplasmatales, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria related phylotypes were also found. These results indicate a specific bacterial community dominated by putative symbiotic Bacteria within the P. tyrrhena’s midgut.

Information-theory approach to allometric growth of marine organisms

Allometric growth investigations are usually conducted by fitting the allometric model (L) \( y = ax^{b} \Leftrightarrow \log y = \log a + b\log x \) (y, x are morphometric characters and b the allometric exponent), which is quite simple both conceptually and mathematically, and its parameters are easy to estimate by linear regression. However b is not necessarily constant and it may change either continuously or abruptly at specific breakpoints; thus, the simple L model quite often fails to describe allometric growth successfully. In the current context, a better alternative is proposed, based on Kullback–Leibler (K-L) information theory and multi-model inference (MMI). Allometric growth was investigated in eight marine species: the bivalves Pecten jacobaeus and Pinna nobilis, the squids Todarodes sagittatus and Todaropsis eblanae, the crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus (females), the ghost shrimp Pestarella tyrrhena (males), and the fishes Trachurus trachurus and Sparus aurata. In each of the eight species, a pair of body parts was measured and the allometric growth of one body part in relation to the other (reference dimension) was studied, by fitting five different candidate models including: the simple allometric model, two models assuming that b changed continuously and two other assuming that b had a breakpoint. For each species, the ‘best’ model was selected by minimizing the small-sample, bias-corrected form of the Akaike Information Criterion. To quantify the plausibility of each model, given the data and the set of five models, the ‘Akaike weight’ wi of each model was calculated; based on wi the average model was estimated for each case. MMI is beneficial, more robust, and may reveal more information than the classical approach. As demonstrated with the given examples, estimation of b from the linear model, when it was not supported by the data, revealed some characteristic pitfalls, such as concluding positive allometry when there is actually negative or vice versa, or reporting allometry when the data in reality support isometric growth or vice versa.

Burrow structure, burrowing and feeding behaviour of Corallianassa longiventris and Pestarella tyrrhena (Crustacea, Thalassinidea, Callianassidae)

The behaviour of the Caribbean Corallianassa longiventris and the Mediterranean Pestarella tyrrhena, two burrowing thalassinideans, was studied in situ and in laboratory aquaria. Burrows of C. longiventris were closed most of the time; they consist of a deep U (down to 1.5 m) with upper and deeper chambers, some of them filled with macrophyte debris. The burrows of P. tyrrhena reached down to a maximum depth of 54 cm and consisted of a shallow U with a mound and a funnel, and a spiral shaft from which several, often debris-filled chambers branched off. The appearance of C. longiventris at the sediment surface to collect debris is strongly triggered by wave swell or odours from plant and animal juices; its burrows are opened within 10 min. The surface activity of P. tyrrhena was relatively less frequent and less predictable. Inside the burrows, both species exhibited different patterns of time allocated to 25 defined behavioural states. After being offered seagrass debris, P. tyrrhena spent relatively less time manipulating this debris, but it handled sediment more often than C. longiventris. During frequent mining events, both species showed sediment-sorting behaviour, which brought a parcel of sediment in close contact with the mouthparts; some of this sediment may be ingested because the fecal rods produced by both shrimps contain very fine sediment particles. Seagrass debris is irregularly tended by P. tyrrhena after its introduction into the chambers. Such material ultimately becomes buried. Corallianassa longiventris frequently returns to its debris chambers to pick up pieces of seagrass, which are subsequently cut with the chelae or ripped with the third maxilliped and then transported to another empty chamber nearby. Pieces become smaller with time and show curved cutting edges and bite marks. After 100 to 140 days, 2 to 6 g(dw) seagrass debris are consumed in this manner by individuals of this species. The debris-related behaviour of P. tyrrhena probably enriches the sediment around the burrow for stochastic encounters during later mining events. Such an indirect benefit may also be effective on a population level because other individuals may also encounter this buried nutrient source.

Nutritional ecology of thalassinidean shrimps constructing burrows with debris chambers: The distribution and use of macronutrients and micronutrients

Four different approaches were combined to determine the nutritional relevance of debris chambers in the burrows of two thalassinidean shrimps: (1) the natural abundance of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in potential food sources, (2) their nutritional value based on the content and composition of essential nutrients, (3) a dual labelling experiment with shrimp in aquaria employing 15N- and 13C-labelled seagrass debris and (4) ration estimates using the acquisition rate of plant debris by the shrimps. The results of the four approaches confirmed the use of plant debris as a food source. Based on the natural abundance of stable isotopes, Corallianassa longiventris apparently relies on the chamber content and the burrow wall as sources of carbon and nitrogen, whereas Pestarella tyrrhena probably relies on ambient debris and on benthic foraminiferans and microphytobenthos in the surface sediment. Corallianassa longiventris obtains its essential nutrients predominantly from chamber debris and to a lesser extent from its burrow wall, P. tyrrhena from chamber debris, the burrow wall and the surface sediment. Among the essential nutrients, those amino acids commonly deficient to deposit feeders were particularly enriched in the burrow environments of the two shrimps. Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) were lacking in all of C. longiventris potential food sources; this species may either be able to synthesize them de novo from linolic acid or may use another unknown source. For P. tyrrhena, surface sediment and chamber debris represent potential HUFA sources. The most probable thiamine and β-carotene supplier for C. longiventris is the chamber debris, for P. tyrrhena again the surface sediment. In both species, the rate of debris introduction into the burrow is sufficient to meet the nutritional demand.

Sediment properties and bacterial community in burrows of the ghost shrimp Pestarella tyrrhena (Decapoda: Thalassinidea)

Chemical properties of burrow wall sediment from burrows of the thalassinidean shrimp Pestarella (=Callianassa) tyrrhena located at Vravrona Bay (Aegean Sea, Greece) were studied and found to be very different from the sediment surface and ambient anoxic sediment. P. tyrrhena burrow walls had significantly higher amounts of silt and clay, while total organic carbon (TOC) was up to 6 times higher than in surrounding sediment. Chlorophyll a (chl a) accounted for a small frac- tion of TOC and showed similar values in burrow walls and surface sediment, whereas the low chl a: chl a + phaeopigment ratio indicated the presence of more fresh material in the latter. Biopolymers (carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) were 4 to 11 times higher in burrow walls than in the surround- ing sediment, accounting for 47% of TOC. The low protein:carbohydrate ratio indicated that the high TOC in the burrow walls was caused by the presence of aged detritus of low nutritional quality, such as seagrass detritus. The distinct conditions along the burrow wall also affected the bacterial community and resulted in a 10-fold increase of bacterial abundance. Molecular fingerprints of the bacterial communities showed that the bacterial composition of the burrow wall was more similar to the ambient anoxic sediment and showed less seasonal change than the sediment surface. These results suggest that burrow walls have distinct properties and should not be considered merely as a simple extension of the sediment surface.

Impact of Pestarella tyrrhena on benthic metabolism in sediment microcosms enriched with seagrass and macroalgal detritus

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 281:165-179 (2004) - doi:10.3354/meps281165 Impact of Pestarella tyrrhena on benthic metabolism in sediment microcosms enriched with seagrass and macroalgal detritus Sokratis Papaspyrou1,*, Maria Thessalou-Legaki1, Erik Kristensen2 1Department of Zoology-Marine Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 157 84 Athens, Greece 2Institute of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark *Email: spapasp@cc.uoa.gr ABSTRACT: The impact of Pestarella (= Callianasa) tyrrhena (Decapoda: Thalassinidea), a common burrowing shrimp in the Mediterranean Sea on sediment-water fluxes (O2, TCO2, NH4+ and NO3- + NO2-), sediment characteristics (organic matter, chlorophyll a) and porewater solutes (TCO2, NH4+ and NO3- + NO2-) was investigated in laboratory microcosms over a period of 42 d. Microcosms containing homogenised fine sandy sediment were amended with either dead Posidonia oceanica leaves or fresh Ulva lactuca thalli. Reworking activity by the animal resulted in a rapid burial of surface deposited organic matter into the sediment. Porewater profiles of both TCO2 and NH4+ indicated that P. tyrrhena activities result in a significant flushing of porewater solutes. Total sediment metabolism and carbon mineralisation were enhanced in the presence of P. tyrrhena. Metabolism of P. tyrrhena individuals was approximately 3 times higher in Ulva-amended sediment, probably due to a high activity level when nutritious food sources are in excess. Accordingly, animal respiration explained approximately half of the total enhancement in Ulva-amended sediment, while microbial decomposition of refractory seagrass detritus contributed about 4 times more to the stimulated carbon mineralisation than animal respiration. Despite the higher initial addition of carbon in Posidonia-amended sediment compared to Ulva-amended sediment, the amount of excess carbon mineralised was 4.7 times higher in the latter, indicating that mineralisation processes depend on the degradability rather than the quantity of the organic pool. Although P. tyrrhena excretion constituted only a minor part of the total nitrogen mineralised, macrofaunal activities were the major factor affecting total nitrogen mineralisation, and not the enrichment with organic matter. KEY WORDS: Bioturbation · Pestarella tyrrhena · Posidonia oceanica · Ulva lactuca · Benthic fluxes · Nutrient change Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 281. Online publication date: November 01, 2004 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2004 Inter-Research.

Notes on the occurrence of some poorly known Decapoda (Crustacea) in the southern North Sea

INTRODUCTION Since April 1972 an ecological trawl-survey programme has been undertaken by the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Texel, in the southern North Sea with the R. V. Aurelia. The main object is to obtain information on distribution, density, biomass and fluctuations of crawling or swimming demersal (epibenthic) fauna such as small fishes, shrimps, prawns, crabs, asteroids, ophiuroids and some gastropods, for the evaluation of the role of these carnivores in the benthic ecosystem of the southern North Sea. Sedimentological aspects of the area are described by Creutzberg & Postma (1979). Within the context of the present paper the most important feature is the mesh of 5 x 5 mm2 of the cod end of the 51/2 m beam-trawl used and the extensive area of 5000-10,000 m2 covered during each haul. These exceptional circumstances resulted into faunistically interesting catches which gave rise to a cooperation with taxonomic specialists of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (RMNH), Leiden. The present paper deals with decapod crustaceans, collected during Aurelia-cruises, which are considered to be scarce or rare in the southern North Sea, completed with data from bottom-samples and other sources. The species in question are: Pandalina brevirostris, Spirontocaris lilljeborgii, Alpheus macrocheles, Pontophilus spinosus, Pontophilus bispinosus, Galathea dispersa, Ebalia tuberosa, Ebalia tumefacta, Ebalia cranchii, Atelecyclus rotundatus, Monodaeus couchii, Callianassa subterranea, Callianassa tyrrhena, Upogeb ia stellata and Upogebia deltaura. Of the genus Macropodia a number of specimens have been collected, which partly were identified as M. linaresi. Other specimens, however, represent one or two new species. On Macropodia in the southern North Sea a seperate paper will