Neighbour-stranger relations in the fiddler crab Uca capricornis

Created 24/06/2025

Updated 24/06/2025

A unique relationship exists between neighbouring males and females in the fiddler crab Uca capricornis. This experiment was designed to demonstrate how a male fiddler crab responds to different individuals tethered near to his burrow. The response of a male crab to the neighbour and a stranger (with similar physical characteristics) was observed. The trial ended when the focal male touched the tethered individual (approach), or after 5 minutes passed with no approach (ignore). The order of the two trials (neighbour or stranger) was random. 80 experiments were conducted in total, 20 of each of the following combinations: i) male -- neighbouring male, ii) male -- strange male, iii) male -- neighbouring female, iv) male -- strange female. The results indicate that males treat female neighbours differently to male neighbours and intruders (of either sex). They were less likely to approach a female neighbour than an unknown female tethered in the same spot. They were equally likely to approach an unknown female, a neighbouring male and an unknown male.

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Neighbour-stranger relations in the fiddler crab Uca capricornis
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/779811b6-feca-420a-8dcf-b47ce8b8192e
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
Tanya.Detto@hotmail.com
Reference Period 01/11/2002 - 01/01/2006
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    [
      [
        130.5,
        -13.0
      ],
      [
        131.0,
        -13.0
      ],
      [
        131.0,
        -12.0
      ],
      [
        130.5,
        -12.0
      ],
      [
        130.5,
        -13.0
      ]
    ]
  ],
  "type": "Polygon"
}
Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Neighbour-stranger relations in the fiddler crab Uca capricornis". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/neighbour-stranger-relations-in-the-fiddler-crab-uca-capricornis1