Autotomy, the reflex severance of an appendage, is considered an adaptation to avoid
predators and limit wounds. While an autotomy response may provide immediate survival …

Summary 1 Contests may involve injurious fighting, other types of direct physical aggression
and communication. They occur over ownership access to mates and other resources that …

To investigate the role of certain neurohormones in agonistic behaviour, fights were staged
between pairs of size-matched male shore crabs Carcinus maenas, and blood samples …

Assortative mating by size is a common mating pattern that can be generated by several
different behavioural mechanisms, with different evolutionary implications. Assortative …

Adult maleCarcinus maenasoccur on the shore with carapace colours ranging from green to
deep red. In the past, this was believed to be indicative of moult state; green crabs having …

Weapon size has been shown to be a better predictor of competitive success than body size
(carapace width) in fights between shore crabs, Carcinus maenas. However, when the …

The shore crab (Carcinus maenas) exhibits a range of carapace pattern polymorphisms, but
little is known regarding their function or maintenance. If patterns represent some form of …

We examined the link between handling time (Th), adopted feeding techniques, profitability
curves and prey size selection to further understand the constraints that influence bivalve …

Experiments and field data on blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, from mid-Chesapeake Bay
between 1991 and 1994 were used to test whether large males have advantages over small …

In predator–prey relationships such as those between crabs and their bivalve prey,
interference competition is a topic of intense investigation as it can have profound …