Abstract
Neosarmatium meinerti is a crab which commonly inhabitsthelandward Avicennia marina fringe in East Africanmangroves.Stomach content analysis of individuals collected at Gazi BayandMida Creek (Kenya) showed that their diet mainly consisted ofmangrove leaves, completed with little animal matter.Experimentsdesigned to offer the crabs a choice of leaves or propagulesof thevarious mangrove species present indicated that N. meinertihas no distinct preference for any of them. Nor is itattracted byspongy material impregnated with the extract of propagulesfrom anyparticular mangrove species. However, at least for Rhizophoramucronata, this crab species has a slight preference forfreshlygathered propagules when presented both matured and freshlygathered ones. There is little evidence that the plant-deriveddietof N. meinerti consists of one mangrove species only,thoughit is probable that this crab will restrict its feeding areawithinthe landward A. marina fringe. Because of the lack ofspecificity in its feeding behaviour, N. meinerti canalso bea threat to the successful regeneration or restoration ofmangrovesthrough seedling or propagule planting.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Conover, W. J., 1980. Practical nonparametric statistics. John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA.
Dahdouh-Guebas, F., M. Giuggioli, A. Oluoch, M. Vannini & S. Cannicci. A note on the feeding habits of non ocypodid mangrove crabs fromKenya. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg (in press).
Davie, P. J. F., 1994. Revision of NeosarmatiumSerène and Soh (Crustacea: Brachyura: Sesarminae) with descriptions of two new species. Mem. Queens. Mus. 35: 35–74.
Emmerson, W. D. & L. E. McGwynne, 1992. Feeding and assimilation of mangrove leaves by the crab Sesarma meinertide Man in relation to leaf-litter production in Mgazana, a warm-temperate southern African mangrove swamp. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 157: 41–53.
Giddins, R. I., J. S. Lucas, M. J. Neilson & G. N. Richards, 1986. Feeding ecology of the mangrove crab Neosarmatium smithii (Crustacea: Decapoda: Sesarmidae). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 33: 147–155.
Hay, M. E. & W. Fenical, 1992. Chemical mediation of seaweedherbivore interactions. In John, D. M., S. J. Hawkins & J.H. Price, Plant-animal Interactions in the Marine Benthos, Systematics Association, Special Volume N°46, Claredon Press, Oxford, UK.
Macnae, W., 1968. A general account of the fauna and flora of mangrove swamps and forests in the Indo-West-Pacific region. Adv. mar. Biol. 6: 73–270.
McKee, K. L., 1995. Mangrove species distribution and propagule predation in Belize: an exception to the dominance-predation hypothesis. Biotropica 27: 334–345.
Micheli, F., 1993. Feeding ecology of mangrove crabs in North Eastern Australia: mangrove litter consumption by Sesarma messa and Sesarma smithii. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 171: 165–186.
Micheli, F., F. Gherardi & M. Vannini, 1991. Feeding and burrowing ecology of two East African mangrove crabs. Mar. Biol. 111: 247–254.
Neilson, M. J., T. J. Painter & G. N. Richards, 1986. Flavoglycan: a novel glyconjugate from leaves of mangrove (Rhizophora stylosa Griff.). Carbohydr. Res. 147: 315–324.
Robertson, A. I., 1986. Food chains in tropical Australian mangrove habitats: a review of recent research. In Field, C. D. & M. Vannueci (eds), Report of the Proceedings of the Symposium on New Perspectives in Research and Management of Mangrove Ecosystems, Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 11–14, 1986. New Delhi, India.
Smith, T. J., 1987a. Effect of seed predation and light level on the distribution of Avicennia marinaForsk. in tropical tidal forests. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 25: 43–52.
Smith, T. J., 1987b. Seed predation in relation to tree dominance and distribution in mangrove forest. Ecology 68: 266–273.
Steinke, T. D., A. Rajh & A. J. Holland, 1993. The feeding behaviour of the red mangrove crab Sesarma meinertide Man, 1887 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Grapsidae) and its effect on the degradation of mangrove litter. S. Afr. J. mar. Sci. 13: 151–160.
Swain, T., 1979. Tannins and lignins. In Rosenthal, G. A. & D. H. Jansen, Herbivores, their interaction with secondary plant metabolites, Academic Press, New York, USA.
Tomlinson, P. B., 1986. The Botany ofMangroves. Cambridge Tropical Biology Series, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York: 419.
Van Speybroeck, D., 1992. Regeneration strategy of mangroves along the Kenyan coast. Hydrobiologia 247: 243–251.
Weinstock, J. A., 1994. Rhizophoramangrove agroforestry. Econ. Bot. 48: 210–213.
Williams, M. J., 1981. Methods for analysis of natural diet in portunid crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 52: 103–113.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dahdouh-Guebas, F., Verneirt, M., Tack, J.F. et al. Food preferences of Neosarmatium meinerti de Man (Decapoda: Sesarminae) and its possible effect on the regeneration of mangroves. Hydrobiologia 347, 83–89 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003015201186
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003015201186
- Neosarmatium (= Sesarma) meinerti
- mangrove
- regeneration
- food preference
- propagule predation
- Kenya