Variation in the post-copulatory guarding behavior of Neohelice granulata (Brachyura, Grapsoidea, Varunidae) in two different habitats

Abstract

Crab guarding behaviors are influenced by the biological and physical characteristics that each population experiences in a particular habitat. We studied post-copulatory guarding behavior and the factors affecting it, such as the presence of burrows, female receptivity duration, operational sex ratio (OSR) and male size, in two different populations of Neohelice granulata: Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (MCL) and San Antonio Oeste (SAO). Laboratory experiments showed that post-copulatory guarding duration varied between the study areas. In MCL, it depended upon the presence of burrows and female receptivity duration, whereas it was independent of the OSR and male size. In SAO, it was dependent upon the OSR and female receptivity duration, whereas it was independent of the presence of burrows and male size. Thus, N. granulata males display different reproductive strategies related to their post-copulatory guarding behavior pattern in different habitats. These strategies are related to the fact that this species constructs and defends a burrow that provides shelter and a place to mate, something that other varunids do not have.