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Coexistence of congeneric spiny lobsters on coral reefs: differential use of shelter resources and vulnerability to predators

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Abstract

The notion, previously generated from laboratory experiments, that the local coexistence of spiny lobsters Panulirus guttatus and Panulirus argus on Caribbean reefs may be promoted by a differential use of shelter resources and/or vulnerability to predators was explored in a coral reef in Mexico. Multiple regressions with data collected on 11 occasions on fixed back-reef and fore-reef sites suggested that the densities of the congener, other crevice-dwellers, and predators did not significantly affect the density of P. argus in either reef zone, or of P. guttatus on the back-reef, where coexistence of both lobster species was greatest. In contrast, there was a significant negative relationship between predators and the density of P. guttatus on the fore-reef, where this species was dominant. Congeneric cohabitation in dens was less than expected by chance, but this pattern may reflect a differential use of shelter resources rather than interspecific competition. P. guttatus was more prevalent in dens over the middle and upper third of the reef profile, and P. argus over the lower and middle third of the reef profile. Whether individuals cohabited with conspecifics, congeners, or resided solitarily, P. guttatus was more prevalent at the walls and/or ceiling and P. argus on the floor of dens. This differential use of shelter resources may be related to the differential vulnerability to predators, which may have promoted local coexistence of these congeners in reef habitats.

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Acknowledgments

We greatly acknowledge the help, in field and laboratory activities, of R. Domínguez-Gallegos, K. Baeza-Martínez, E. Ramírez-Zaldívar, J. Valladárez-Cob, and M. Pérez-Ortiz. This study was funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, México (Project 40159-Q) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Annual permits to conduct lobster surveys in the National Park “Arrecife de Puerto Morelos” were issued by Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca, México.

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  1. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Unidad Académica Puerto Morelos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, PO Box 1152, Cancún, QR, 77500, México

    E. Lozano-Álvarez, P. Briones-Fourzán, A. Osorio-Arciniegas, F. Negrete-Soto & C. Barradas-Ortiz

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  1. E. Lozano-Álvarez
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  2. P. Briones-Fourzán
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  3. A. Osorio-Arciniegas
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  4. F. Negrete-Soto
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  5. C. Barradas-Ortiz
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Correspondence to E. Lozano-Álvarez.

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Communicated by Biology Editor M.I. McCormick.

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Lozano-Álvarez, E., Briones-Fourzán, P., Osorio-Arciniegas, A. et al. Coexistence of congeneric spiny lobsters on coral reefs: differential use of shelter resources and vulnerability to predators. Coral Reefs 26, 361–373 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0207-0

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