Skip to main content

Shell acquisition by hermit crabs: which tactic is more efficient?

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology volume 60, pages 492–500 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Gastropod shells are limited resources for most hermit crab species, acting as primary factors in various aspects of their biology. To investigate the efficacy of different behavioral tactics adopted for their acquisition (locomotion, attendance at shell-supplying sites, interactions with conspecifics in aggregation) we conducted observations and experiments at a salt marsh in New England (USA). Locomotion, fast and meandering, significantly increased the chances of encountering empty shells and conspecifics. However, shell exchanges were rare. Simulated gastropod predation sites quickly attracted a larger number of hermit crabs than the other shell-supplying sites tested (live and dead conspecifics, live snails) and induced the rapid occupancy of all the empty shells offered, usually by the first crabs arriving at the site. Aggregations seemed not to function as shell exchange markets, as previously suggested for several other species. In the short run, exploitation seems to be more efficient for the acquisition of new shells by Pagurus longicarpus. In the long run, it is the density of nondestructive gastropod predators that regulates the availability of new shells of good quality in the pool available to this hermit crab species.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

References

  • Abrams P (1980) Resource partitioning and interspecific competition in a tropical hermit crab community. Oecologia 46:365–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Angel JE (2000) Effects of shell fit on the biology of the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus (Say). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 243:169–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bach CE, Hazlett BA, Rittschof D (1976) Effects of interspecific competition on fitness of the hermit crab Clibanarius tricolor. Ecology 57:579–586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batschelet E (1981) Circular statistics in biology. Academic, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell WJ (1991) Searching behaviour. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Benvenuto C, Sartoni G, Gherardi F (2003) Foraging behaviour of the hermit crab Clibanarius erythropus in a Mediterranean shore. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 83:457–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD (1981a) Predation, physical stress and the organization of a tropical rocky intertidal hermit crab community. Ecology 62:411–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD (1981b) Competitive dynamics of a tropical hermit crab assemblage. Ecology 62:751–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chase ID, Weissburg M, Dewitt TH (1988) The vacancy chain process: a new mechanism of resource distribution in animals with application to hermit crabs. Anim Behav 36:1265–1274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz H, Orihuela B, Rittschof D, Forward RB Jr (1995) Visual orientation to gastropod shells by chemically stimulated hermit crabs, Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc). J Crustac Biol 15:70–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elwood RW, Glass CW (1981) Negotiation or aggression during shell fights of the hermit crab, Pagurus bernhardus. Anim Behav 29:1239–1244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elwood RW, Marks N, Dick JTA (1995) Consequences of shell-species preferences for female reproductive success in the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus. Mar Biol 123:431–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fotheringham N (1976a) Population consequences of shell utilization by hermit crabs. Ecology 57:570–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fotheringham N (1976b) Hermit crab shells as a limiting resource. Crustaceana 31:194–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fotheringham N (1976c) Effects of shell stress on the growth of hermit crabs. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 23:299–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F (1996) Non-conventional hermit crabs: pros and cons of sessile, tube-dwelling life in Discorsopagurus schmitti (Stevens). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 202:119–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F (2006) Fighting behavior in hermit crabs: the combined effect of resource-holding potential and resource value in Pagurus longicarpus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 59:500–510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Atema J (2005a) Effects of chemical context on shell investigation behavior in hermit crabs. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 320:1–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Atema J (2005b) Memory of social partners in hermit crab dominance. Ethology 111:271–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Benvenuto C (2001) Clustering behaviour in a Mediterranean population of the hermit crab Clibanarius erythropus. Ophelia 55:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Tiedemann J (2004a) Binary individual recognition in hermit crabs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 55:524–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Tiedemann J (2004b) Chemical cues and binary individual recognition in the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus. J Zool Lond 263:23–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Vannini M (1992) Hermit crabs in a mangrove swamp: clustering dynamics in Clibanarius laevimanus. Mar Behav Physiol 21:85–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Vannini M (1993) Hermit crabs in a mangrove swamp: proximate and ultimate factors in the clustering of Clibanarius laevimanus. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 168:167–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Micheli F, Vannini M (1990) Movement patterns and dispersal of the hermit crab Clibanarius longitarsus in a mangrove swamp. Mar Behav Physiol 16:209–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Zatteri F, Vannini M (1994) Hermit crabs in a mangrove swamp: the structure of Clibanarius laevimanus clustering. Mar Biol 121:41–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherardi F, Tricarico E, Atema J (2005) Unraveling the nature of individual recognition by odor in hermit crabs. J Chem Ecol 31:2877–2896

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1966a) Social behavior of the Paguridae and Diogenidae of Curacao. Stud Fauna Curacao Other Caribb Isl 23:1–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1966b) Factors affecting the aggressive behavior of the hermit crab Calcinus tibicen. Z Tierpsychol 23:655–671

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1978) Shell exchanges in hermit crabs: aggression, negotiation or both? Anim Behav 26:1278–1279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1979) Individual distance in Crustacea: IV. Distance and dominance hierarchies in Pagurus pollicaris. Mar Behav Physiol 6:225–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1980) Communication and mutual resource exchange in North Florida hermit crabs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 6:177–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1981a) The behavioral ecology of hermit crabs. Ann Rev Ecolog Syst 12:1–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1981b) Daily movements of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus. Bull Mar Sci 31:177–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1983) Daily movement in the hermit crabs Clibanarius tricolor and Calcinus tibicen. J Crustac Biol 3:223–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (1996) Comparative study of hermit crab responses to shell-related chemical cues. J Chem Ecol 22:2317–2329

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA (2000) Responses to single and multiple sources of chemical cues by New Zealand crustaceans. Mar Freshw Behav Physiol 34:1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazlett BA, Herrnkind W (1980) Orientation to shell events by the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc) (Decapoda, Paguridea). Crustaceana 89:311–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herreid CF, Full RJ (1986) Energetics of hermit crabs during locomotion: the cost of carrying a shell. J Exp Biol 120:297–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz J, Rittschof D (1993) Alarm/investigation responses of hermit crabs as related to shell fit and crab size. Mar Behav Physiol 22:171–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Kratt CM, Rittschof D (1991) Peptide attraction of hermit crabs Clibanarius vittatus Bosc: roles of enzymes and substrates. J Chem Ecol 17:2347–2365

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mather J (1982) Choice and competition: their effects on occupancy of shell homes by Octopus joubini. Mar Behav Physiol 8:285–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClintock TS (1985) Effects of shell condition and size upon the shell choice behavior of a hermit crab. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 88:271–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLean R (1975) A description of a marine benthic faunal habitat web: a behavioral study (Ph.D. dissertation). Florida State University, Florida

  • Pianka ER (1988) Evolutionary ecology. Harper and Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Rebach S (1974) Burying behavior in relation to substrate and temperature in the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus. Ecology 55:195–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rittschof D (1980a) Chemical attraction of hermit crabs and other attendants to gastropod predation sites. J Chem Ecol 6:103–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rittschof D (1980b) Enzymatic production of small molecules attracting hermit crabs to simulated predation sites. J Chem Ecol 6:665–676

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rittschof D, Hazlett BA (1997) Behavioural responses of hermit crabs to shell cues, predator haemolymph and body odour. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 77:737–751

    Google Scholar 

  • Rittschof D, Kratt CM, Clare AS (1990) Gastropod predation sites: the role of predator and prey in chemical attraction of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 70:583–596

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rittschof D, Tsai DW, Massey PG, Blanco L, Kueber GL Jr, Haas RJ Jr (1992) Chemical mediation of behavior in hermit crabs: alarm and aggregation cues. J Chem Ecol 18:959–984

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rittschof D, Sarrica J, Rubenstein D (1995) Shell dynamics and microhabitat selection by striped legged hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 192:157–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutheford JD (1977) Removal of living snails from their shells by a hermit crab. Veliger 19:438–439

    Google Scholar 

  • Scully EP (1978) Utilization of surface foam as a food source by the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus Say, 1817. Mar Behav Physiol 5:159–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Scully EP (1979) The effects of gastropod shell availability and habitat characteristics on shell utilization by the intertidal crab Pagurus longicarpus Say. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 37:139–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scully EP (1986) Shell investigation behavior of the intertidal hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus Say. J Crustac Biol 6:749–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel S, Castellan NJ Jr (1988) Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Thacker RW (1994) Volatile shell-investigation cues of land hermit crabs: effect of shell fit, detection of cues from other hermit crab species, and cue isolation. J Chem Ecol 20:1457–1482

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vance RR (1972a) Competition and mechanism of coexistence in three sympatric species of intertidal hermit crabs. Ecology 53:1062–1074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vance RR (1972b) The role of shell adequacy in behavioral interactions involving hermit crabs. Ecology 53:1075–1083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitman KL, McDermott JJ, Oehrlein MS (2001) Laboratory studies on suspension feeding in the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguridae). J Crustac Biol 21:582–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilber TP Jr (1989) Associations between gastropod shell characteristics and egg production in the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus. Oecologia 81:6–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilber TP (1990) Influence of size, species and damage on shell selection by the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus. Mar Biol 104:31–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilber TP, Herrnkind WF (1984) Predaceous gastropods regulate new-shell supply to salt marsh hermit crabs. Mar Biol 79:145–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams AB (1984) Shrimps, lobsters, and crabs of the Atlantic coast of the Eastern US, Maine to Florida. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Winston M, Jacobson S (1978) Dominance and effects of strange conspecifics on aggressive interactions in the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus. Anim Behav 26:184–191

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The study was made possible by MBL Associates, Ann E. Kammer Memorial Fellowship Fund, H. Keffer Hartline Fellowship Fund, Frank R. Lillie Fund, and Plum Foundation. We thank Prof. Jelle Atema (Boston University Marine Program) for his kind hospitality and enthusiastic support. The experiments comply with the current laws of the USA, the country in which they were performed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica “Leo Pardi”, Via Romana 17, 50125, Firenze, Italy

    Elena Tricarico & Francesca Gherardi

Authors
  1. Elena Tricarico
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francesca Gherardi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesca Gherardi.

Additional information

Communicated by P. Blackwell

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tricarico, E., Gherardi, F. Shell acquisition by hermit crabs: which tactic is more efficient?. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 60, 492–500 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0191-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0191-3

Keywords

  • Resources
  • Locomotion
  • Shell recruitment
  • Gastropod predation sites
  • Hermit crabs
  • Pagurus longicarpus