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Effects of temperature on feeding and activity in the crab Scylla serrata

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Abstract

The effect of temperature on feeding, duration of emergence and movement by the crab Scylla serrata (Forskal) was measured under laboratory conditions using infrared time-lapse photography. Little difference was found between experiments carried out at 25° and 20°C. All parameters measured declined at 16°C. At 12°C emergence time and movement were 24 and 33% respectively of the level at 25°C. At 25°C, 65% of crabs fed, but none did so at 12°C. No statistically significant difference was found between male and female crabs in the parameters measured.

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Author notes

  1. B. J. Hill

    Present address: Queensland Fisheries Service, P.O. Box 36, 4000, North Quay, Queensland, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology Department, Rhodes University, 6140, Grahamstown, South Africa

    B. J. Hill

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  1. B. J. Hill
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Communicated by G.F. Humphrey, Sydney

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Hill, B.J. Effects of temperature on feeding and activity in the crab Scylla serrata . Mar. Biol. 59, 189–192 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396867

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396867

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