Mate locating and access behaviour of the parasitic pea crab, Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae, an important parasite of the mussel Perna canaliculus.

ABSTRACT: Pea crabs are globally ubiquitous symbionts in the marine environment that cause serious economic impact in the aquaculture production of several major bivalve species. However, little is known about their host-parasite interactions, especially the mating behaviour of these parasites that could prove useful for controlling their infestation in aquaculture. In this study, the mate location behaviour of male New Zealand pea crabs, Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae (Filhol, 1885), was observed when dwelling in its preferred host, the commercially important green-lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus. Given the cryptic behaviour of the male crabs, a novel trapping system was developed to determine whether male crabs would exit their mussel hosts in response to an upstream female crab. The presence of re

SUBMITTER: Trottier O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4365294 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature