Ecology Summary - Cardisoma guanhumi

Language:

Ecology of Cardisoma guanhumi

Main Ref.	Tavares, M., 2003
Remarks	Supratidal to intertidal (Ref. 97531). Nearly terrestrial species. Lives in great concentration in burrows (to 1.5 m deep) in relatively low lying ground, but also along canals or ditches among rocks and debris. Common in mangrove areas. Burrows may be as far as 8 km from the sea but always where the water table (fresh or salt) can be reached. Normally lives sub-aerially, occasionally wetting the gills, but can survive long periods of immersion and can adapt easily to great variations in water salinity. Females return briefly to the sea where eggs must hatch and larvae undergo developmental changes before transformation to the emergent crab stage. Feeds on a wide variety of plant material, occasionally some carrion. Cannibal (Ref. 367). Herbivore. Also an opportunistic feeder, consuming fiddler crabs, insects and carrion (Ref. 112918). Functionally an omnivore (Ref. 112923).

Main Ref.

Tavares, M., 2003

Remarks

Supratidal to intertidal (Ref. 97531). Nearly terrestrial species. Lives in great concentration in burrows (to 1.5 m deep) in relatively low lying ground, but also along canals or ditches among rocks and debris. Common in mangrove areas. Burrows may be as far as 8 km from the sea but always where the water table (fresh or salt) can be reached. Normally lives sub-aerially, occasionally wetting the gills, but can survive long periods of immersion and can adapt easily to great variations in water salinity. Females return briefly to the sea where eggs must hatch and larvae undergo developmental changes before transformation to the emergent crab stage. Feeds on a wide variety of plant material, occasionally some carrion. Cannibal (Ref. 367). Herbivore. Also an opportunistic feeder, consuming fiddler crabs, insects and carrion (Ref. 112918). Functionally an omnivore (Ref. 112923).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Cardisoma guanhumi may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Benthic: mobile;
Substrate Ref.	Felder, D.L., F. Alvarez, J.W. Goy and R. Lemaitre, 2009
Special habitats	Other habitats: burrows;
Special habitats Ref.	Hostetler, M.E., F.E. Mazzotti and A.K. Taylor, 2003

Associations

Ref.	Tavares, M., 2003
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

feeding

Feeding type	plants/detritus+animals (troph. 2.2-2.79)
Feeding type Ref.	Wolcott, D.L. and T.G. Wolcott, 1987
Feeding habit	variable
Feeding habit Ref.

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	original sample		unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	3.03	0.31			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.

Back to Search

Comments & Corrections