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<p>Scleractinian corals host a diverse range of symbiotic organisms, including crabs of the family Trapeziidae, which play a key role in coral protection and maintenance. These crabs show a positive size-correlation with their host coral colonies, which may result either from host selection in migrating crabs (“migrants” hypothesis) or growth constraints imposed by long-term residency (“residents” hypothesis). In this study, we investigated the abundance, size, sex ratio, host use, and fecundity of <i>Trapezia septata</i> in 9&#xa0;month-old nursery-reared coral colonies of <i>Pocillopora verrucosa</i> at the coast of Tre Island (Vietnam), and compared the results with earlier growth stages to assess which hypothesis better explains the observed crab-host size relationship. Prevalence of <i>T. septata</i> in corals was high (88.4%) and increased with colony size for adults, while remained low (16.2%) and size-independent for juveniles. Sex ratio varied with colony size, with males and females predominating respectively in smaller and larger colonies. Crab size correlated with colony size in specific groups, particularly for male–female pairs, while solitary crabs and those in larger groups showed weak or no correlations. Fecundity was higher in crabs whose size correlated with colony size. In conclusion, we have identified two groups for <i>T. septata</i>, “migrants”—small individuals—and “residents”—large mature individuals in pairs. Both groups differ in behavior, size, and functional characteristics, offering new insights into the population structure and host-use patterns. However, the role of these groups in shaping population spatial structure remains unclear due to the limited data on crab growth rates and lifespan and requires further investigations.</p>

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Shaping population structure in the coral associated crab Trapezia septata: the role of migration and residency

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月13日

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  • Temir Alanovich Britayev,
  • Alexey Ilyich Buyanovsky,
  • Vadim Alexeevich Merkin,
  • Thi Hai Thanh Nguyen,
  • Daniel Sintes Martin

摘要

Scleractinian corals host a diverse range of symbiotic organisms, including crabs of the family Trapeziidae, which play a key role in coral protection and maintenance. These crabs show a positive size-correlation with their host coral colonies, which may result either from host selection in migrating crabs (“migrants” hypothesis) or growth constraints imposed by long-term residency (“residents” hypothesis). In this study, we investigated the abundance, size, sex ratio, host use, and fecundity of Trapezia septata in 9 month-old nursery-reared coral colonies of Pocillopora verrucosa at the coast of Tre Island (Vietnam), and compared the results with earlier growth stages to assess which hypothesis better explains the observed crab-host size relationship. Prevalence of T. septata in corals was high (88.4%) and increased with colony size for adults, while remained low (16.2%) and size-independent for juveniles. Sex ratio varied with colony size, with males and females predominating respectively in smaller and larger colonies. Crab size correlated with colony size in specific groups, particularly for male–female pairs, while solitary crabs and those in larger groups showed weak or no correlations. Fecundity was higher in crabs whose size correlated with colony size. In conclusion, we have identified two groups for T. septata, “migrants”—small individuals—and “residents”—large mature individuals in pairs. Both groups differ in behavior, size, and functional characteristics, offering new insights into the population structure and host-use patterns. However, the role of these groups in shaping population spatial structure remains unclear due to the limited data on crab growth rates and lifespan and requires further investigations.