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Changes in the feeding behavior of the deposit-feeding polychaete Laeonereis acuta on soft sediments inhabited by burrowing crabs

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Abstract

In this paper, we evaluate the influence of the burrowing crab Chasmagnathus granulatus on the feeding behavior, body condition, burrowing activity, and fecal production of the deposit-feeding polychaete Laeonereis acuta. Previous results and ours show that, due to crab activity, sediment organic matter decreases with depth outside a crab bed, but there were no differences inside. Also, particle sizes were smaller inside the crab bed. Polychaetes showed better body condition inside the crab bed, suggesting higher energy gain. They fed on the surface more frequently outside the crab bed than inside. However, feeding rate was higher inside the crab bed, which is consistent with the larger weight and volume of fecal pellets found inside crab bed. In both areas, the bedload sediment transport was not similar to the sediment ingested by this polychaete. A 1-month exclusion/inclusion experiment performed outside and inside the crab bed showed that the body condition of polychaetes changed between areas but that this was not directly due to crab manipulation. Thus, our results suggest that the higher sediment quality inside a crab bed can positively affect the feeding behavior of the deposit-feeding polychaete L. acuta, increasing its feeding rate and consequently enhancing its body condition.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J.L. Gutierrez for his field assistance, S. Cummins and two anonymous referees for their invaluable comments. Grants from the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CONICET (PIA 6097, PIP 0686 to O.I.) and Fundación Antorchas (A-13672/1–5 to O.I.) provided support for this project. G.P. and P.M. were supported by fellowships from CONICET (Argentina). This paper is part of the doctoral thesis of G.P. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which the experiments were performed.

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  1. G. Palomo

    Present address: Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories A11, University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 573 Correo Central (B7600WAG), Mar del Plata, Argentina

    G. Palomo, P. Martinetto & O. Iribarne

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina

    G. Palomo, P. Martinetto & O. Iribarne

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  1. G. Palomo
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  2. P. Martinetto
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  3. O. Iribarne
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Correspondence to G. Palomo.

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Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin

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Palomo, G., Martinetto, P. & Iribarne, O. Changes in the feeding behavior of the deposit-feeding polychaete Laeonereis acuta on soft sediments inhabited by burrowing crabs. Marine Biology 145, 657–667 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1352-4

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