The Box Crab Calappa hepatica as a Nuclear Species for the Opportunistic Foraging Behaviour of the Flowery Flounder, Bothus mancus, in the Indo-Pacific
Some predatory fishes may exhibit opportunistic feeding behaviour by exploiting potential prey that is distracted, displaced, or exposed by the activities of a third party that acts as a ‘nuclear’ species. Other fishes mostly perform the role of ‘nuclear’ species, but benthic invertebrates, such as...
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| Published in: | Diversity (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 11; p. 662 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Basel
MDPI AG
01.11.2024
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| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 1424-2818, 1424-2818 |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Some predatory fishes may exhibit opportunistic feeding behaviour by exploiting potential prey that is distracted, displaced, or exposed by the activities of a third party that acts as a ‘nuclear’ species. Other fishes mostly perform the role of ‘nuclear’ species, but benthic invertebrates, such as octopuses, have also been reported. Crabs are rarely observed in this role, with only a few records from the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Here, we report the temporary association between two specimens of the flowery flounder, Bothus mancus (family Bothidae), and a box crab, Calappa hepatica (family Calappidae), from the Philippines, representing the first record of a crab–fish feeding association in the Indo-Pacific region. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 |
| ISSN: | 1424-2818 1424-2818 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/d16110662 |