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Sediment Selection: Range Expanding Fiddler Crabs are Better Burrowers Than Their Historic Range Counterparts

View ORCID ProfileRichard J Wong, View ORCID ProfileMichael S. Roy, View ORCID ProfileJarrett E. K. Byrnes
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.14.351007
Richard J Wong
Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, 02125, USA
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  • For correspondence: rjw38@duke.edu
Michael S. Roy
Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, 02125, USA
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Jarrett E. K. Byrnes
Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, 02125, USA
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  • ORCID record for Jarrett E. K. Byrnes
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ABSTRACT

Species ranges are shifting in response to climate change. In New England saltmarshes, the mud fiddler crab, Minuca pugnax, is expanding north of Cape Cod, MA into the Gulf of Maine (GoM) due to warming waters. The burrowing lifestyle of M. pugnax means sediment compaction in saltmarshes may influence the ability for crabs to dig, with more compact soils being resilient to burrowing. Previous studies indicate that saltmarshes along the GoM have higher soil strength (i.e., compaction) relative to marshes south of Cape Cod. Together, physical characteristics and temperature of this habitat may be influencing the burrowing performance of M. pugnax, and therefore the continuation of their northward range expansion into the GoM. To determine if compaction affects burrowing activity of M. pugnax in historical and range expanded populations, we conducted a controlled laboratory experiment. We manipulated soil compaction in standardized lab assays and measured crab burrowing performance with individuals collected from Nantucket (i.e., historical range) and the Plum Island Estuary (PIE, i.e., expanded range). We determined compaction negatively affected burrowing ability in crabs from both sites; however, crabs from PIE burrowed in higher soil compactions than Nantucket crabs. In addition, PIE crabs were more likely to burrow overall. We conclude that site level differences in compaction are likely altering burrowing behavior in the crab’s expanded range territory by way of phenotypic plasticity or rapid evolution. Our study demonstrates that non-temperature physical habitat traits can be as important as temperature in influencing climate driven range expansions.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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Posted November 21, 2020.
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Sediment Selection: Range Expanding Fiddler Crabs are Better Burrowers Than Their Historic Range Counterparts
Richard J Wong, Michael S. Roy, Jarrett E. K. Byrnes
bioRxiv 2020.11.14.351007; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.14.351007
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Sediment Selection: Range Expanding Fiddler Crabs are Better Burrowers Than Their Historic Range Counterparts
Richard J Wong, Michael S. Roy, Jarrett E. K. Byrnes
bioRxiv 2020.11.14.351007; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.14.351007

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