Meeting Abstract

P3.6  Sunday, Jan. 6  You are what you eat: Effect of diet on physiological and reproductive condition in the mangrove tree crab Aratus pisonii RILEY, M.E.*; GRIFFEN, B.D.; University of South Carolina; University of South Carolina rileyme3@email.sc.edu

The mangrove tree crab Aratus pisonii is a major consumer of fresh mangrove tissue in neotropical mangrove systems, providing a key link between primary production and the detrital food web. Literature documenting their trophic behavior has often reported the species as being primarily herbivorous. However, recent field observations and gut content analyses have revealed that the diet choices of A. pisonii are more accurately described as omnivorous. In order to investigate the implications of A. pisonii’s omnivorous trophic behavior for physiological condition and reproductive output, we performed a controlled diet experiment varying both the type (proportion of plant and animal material) and amount of food offered to crabs in a long-term laboratory setting. In conjunction with field collections that provide snapshots of A. pisonii’s natural diet choices, physiological condition, and reproductive patterns, this study provides insight into the effect of individual diet choices on the overall physiological and reproductive condition of a key consumer in neotropical mangrove systems.