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Case studies on decapod crustaceans from the Philippines reveal deep, steep underwater slopes as prime habitats for ‘rare’ species

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Abstract

Relatively few studies have been done to define or assess rarity in the marine environment. Published studies have focused on shallow-water and intertidal habitats, and the available information appears to reflect the same pattern observed in terrestrial environments, i.e., that there are many rare species and few common species in any one given area. However, our studies of the abundance of new and/or supposedly rare taxa of decapod crustaceans from the deep, steep slopes of the island of Balicasag, in the central Philippines, have raised questions on how rarity should be defined in marine invertebrates. Examples of such supposedly rare species of crabs and lobsters (Crustacea: Decapoda) are presented here. That these animals come from deep, steep slopes, a relatively under-studied habitat, highlights the major gaps in current knowledge of marine biodiversity that are in part due to the inadequacy of both traditional and high technology sampling methodologies and the limited habitat types that the former can target. Low-technology, artisanal tangle nets have proved to be an optimal capture technique for deep-water decapod crustaceans on deep, steep slopes; many new taxa have been discovered and, in other cases, perceptions of rarity and endemicity have been corrected.

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Acknowledgements

The study has been aided and facilitated by many colleagues and friends; notably the fishermen of Balicasag, especially Jose Arbasto; Lawrence Liao and Danilo Largo (USC), Father Florante Camacho and his staff (Holy Name University in Bohol); Ludivina Labe (National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, NFRDI); and Marivene Manuel-Santos (NMCR). The PANGLAO 2004 and 2005 Expeditions were organized by Philippe Bouchet (MNHN) with USC, NFRDI, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the National University of Singapore, and the Taiwan National Ocean University; and supported by TOTAL Foundation, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation. We thank Joelle Lai, Lin Chia-Wei, Dwi Listyo Rahayu and Noel Saguil for their kind help. Important suggestions from two anonymous reviewers have also helped improve the paper. This study was partially supported by ARF Grant No. R-154-000-334-112 from the National University of Singapore.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    Jose Christopher E. Mendoza & Tohru Naruse

  2. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore, 6 Science Drive 2, Level 3, Singapore, 117546, Singapore

    Swee-Hee Tan & Peter K. L. Ng

  3. Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 202, Taiwan, ROC

    Tin-Yam Chan

  4. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (UMR SAE), 5, rue Félix Franchette, 98800, Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie

    Bertrand Richer de Forges

  5. Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, 14 Kent Ridge Road S, Singapore, 119223, Singapore

    Peter K. L. Ng

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  1. Jose Christopher E. Mendoza
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  3. Swee-Hee Tan
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  6. Peter K. L. Ng
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Correspondence to Peter K. L. Ng.

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Mendoza, J.C.E., Naruse, T., Tan, SH. et al. Case studies on decapod crustaceans from the Philippines reveal deep, steep underwater slopes as prime habitats for ‘rare’ species. Biodivers Conserv 19, 575–586 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9744-x

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