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Increased potential for shell competition among hermit crabs (Pagurus beringanus and Pagurus granosimanus) in the rocky intertidal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2022

Brooke Z. Torjman Open the ORCID record for Brooke Z. Torjman [Opens in a new window]  and
Erika V. Iyengar Open the ORCID record for Erika V. Iyengar [Opens in a new window]
Brooke Z. Torjman
Affiliation:
Biology Department, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA18104, USA
Erika V. Iyengar*
Affiliation:
Biology Department, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA18104, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Erika V. Iyengar, E-mail: iyengar@muhlenberg.edu
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Abstract

We examined the prevalence and shell use of two species of hermit crabs (Pagurus granosimanus and Pagurus beringanus) in exposed and protected microhabitats at five sites in the rocky temperate intertidal on San Juan Island, Washington, to compare present habitat partitioning and potential interspecific competition to that reported nearly 50 years ago. We found that, in contrast to previous findings, the two species of hermit crabs overlapped extensively at some sites, typically those with less wave action. While the hermit crabs typically inhabited certain types of shells significantly more than others, and that use was congruent across microhabitats and species of hermit crabs at the same site, the dominant domicile differed substantially across sites. We provide a more complete ranking of shell use than previous authors and note site-specific dominant shell use. We conclude that previous habitat partitioning by depth may have weakened at protected sites. We hypothesize that increasing temperatures have caused P. granosimanus to expand its range deeper into the intertidal, which may increase the degree of interspecific competition for shells at the edge of the species’ tidal height range, where they overlap. Whether the habitat shift by this hermit crab is due to recent alterations in climate (particularly elevated temperatures, ocean acidification and lower local open ocean salinity) is unknown, but warrants further study.

Keywords

Climate changeniche partitioningsympatric populationsWashington state
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 101 , Issue 6 , September 2021 , pp. 957 - 967
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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