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Synchronous waving in two species of fiddler crabs

Backwell, Patricia; Jennions, Michael; Wada, Keiji; Murai, Minoru; Christy, John H

Description

In the fiddler crabs Uca saltitanta and Uca perplexa, males attract mates by waving their enlarged claws. We show that in both species waving is closely synchronised between neighbouring males in clusters, both in the presence of mate-searching females and in their absence. Wandering females visit those males in the cluster that produce more waves at faster wave rates. In U. perplexa, they also selectively visit those males that produce the greatest number of leading waves. Synchronous waving...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorBackwell, Patricia
dc.contributor.authorJennions, Michael
dc.contributor.authorWada, Keiji
dc.contributor.authorMurai, Minoru
dc.contributor.authorChristy, John H
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-10T22:12:34Z
dc.identifier.issn0873-9749
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/49718
dc.description.abstractIn the fiddler crabs Uca saltitanta and Uca perplexa, males attract mates by waving their enlarged claws. We show that in both species waving is closely synchronised between neighbouring males in clusters, both in the presence of mate-searching females and in their absence. Wandering females visit those males in the cluster that produce more waves at faster wave rates. In U. perplexa, they also selectively visit those males that produce the greatest number of leading waves. Synchronous waving may be the result of a precedence effect causing male competition to produce leading signals.
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.sourceActa Ethologica
dc.subjectKeywords: Decapoda (Crustacea); Ocypodidae; Uca
dc.titleSynchronous waving in two species of fiddler crabs
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.description.refereedYes
local.identifier.citationvolume9
dc.date.issued2006
local.identifier.absfor060311 - Speciation and Extinction
local.identifier.ariespublicationMigratedxPub191
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationBackwell, Patricia, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationJennions, Michael, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationWada, Keiji, Nara Women's University
local.contributor.affiliationMurai, Minoru, University of the Ryukyus
local.contributor.affiliationChristy, John H, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage22
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage25
local.identifier.doi10.1007/s10211-005-0009-8
dc.date.updated2015-12-09T07:53:48Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-33746267434
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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