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Título del libro: Crayfish: Evolution, Habitat And Conservation Strategies
Título del capítulo: MORPHOMETRIC AND BEHAVIORAL DIVERGENCE IN PROCAMBARUS ACANTHOPHORUS INHABITING IN A COASTAL PLAIN WETLAND AND A MOUNTAIN PINE FOREST

Autores UNAM:
MARIA DEL PILAR CONSTANZA ORTEGA BERNAL; EDGAR FLORES SOTO; MARIA EUGENIA BETINA SOMMER CERVANTES; HECTOR SOLIS CHAGOYAN;
Autores externos:

Idioma:

Año de publicación:
2020
Palabras clave:

Burrowing behavior; Crayfish juvenile stage; Divergence; Forest; Morphometry; Procambarus acanthophorus; Wetland


Resumen:

Procambarus acanthophorus is an endemic secondary burrower distributed in the Gulf of Mexico slope in wetlands at the sea level. In these habitats, P. acanthophorus survives the annual dry season, sheltered in deep tunnels built by obeying their own burrowing behavior. Unexpectedly, populations of this crayfish species were found in a mountain pine-oak forest from Hidalgo, Mexico at 1979 m.a.s.l. Female and male crayfish collected from both the wetland and forest were maintained under laboratory conditions and hatched progeny became available. This fact allowed us to determine whether progeny from these contrasting ecosystems exhibits similitude or divergence in the growth rate as well as in ontogeny of its burrowing behavior. The morphometry and burrowing activity of 15 crayfish hatched by environment, in juvenile stage, were evaluated for 6 months. Total length and weight were measured every 2 or 3 days. On the other hand, for ethological study, juveniles were kept individually in aquaria filled with wetland?s sediment. Results showed that in the progeny from Hidalgo, biometric parameters in 6-month-old crayfish were 2-fold higher than Veracruz offspring. All 10-day-old juveniles began to perform behavioral patterns related to burrowing. At the first stage, progeny from wetland made small circular grooves using its telson, whereas juveniles from the forest predominantly pushed the sediment to make grooves with their chelipeds. At the second stage, all crayfish made small balls of sediment and dispersed them in the aquarium. At the third stage, 4-week-old offspring from the forest could remove sediment and digging shallow pools; in contrast, crayfish from wetland built short tunnels with small diameter. At the fourth stage, 16-week-old progeny from Hidalgo removed more sediment to form deeper pools and excavated small tunnels; on the other hand, offspring from the wetland made deeper tunnels with one or two interconnected entrances. The burrowing patterns performed by adult crayfish from the wetland is more like that expressed by 6-month-old progeny from Hidalgo, but shelters built by these juveniles had poor stability and burrows frequently collapsed; these refuges gained stability after they were re-built several times. Results showed divergence in both phenotypic traits and behavioral patterns. Regarding burrowing activity, the availability of adequate sediment to dig, apparently induced the execution of a consistent genetic neuronal program to develop the burrowing behavior in juveniles; however, the ecological history seemingly determined the growth rate as well as the sequence and final consolidation of this plastic behavior. © 2020 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.


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