Return to search

SHELTER AVAILABILITY, OCCUPANCY, AND RESIDENCY IN SIZE-ASYMMETRIC CONTESTS BETWEEN RUSTY CRAYFISH, <i>ORCONECTES RUSTICUS</i>

Contest outcomes are usually determined by differences in resource holding potential, the social histories of the combatants, and perceptions of resource value. One understudied aspect of gaining an advantage is the residency effect. Prior occupancy of a particular place can affect the knowledge and motivation of the resident. There could be a tactical advantage in knowing the terrain or an increased willingness to fight to maintain control of a familiar area. In this study we evaluated the importance of shelter residency effects relative to size differences between rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) as potential competitors for access to shelter. The intensity of any residency effects was manipulated by altering the number of shelters in the arena. Our results suggest that any residency effect is very weak in this system, and if present may often be masked by the strong and pervasive influence on contest outcome of the relative body sizes of the contestants. We also found that both shelter number and crayfish size asymmetries had strong, independent effects on levels of aggression. Dominance, but not residency status, was a factor in shelter use.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:uky.edu/oai:uknowledge.uky.edu:gradschool_theses-1050
Date01 January 2010
CreatorsKlar, Nathan M.
PublisherUKnowledge
Source SetsUniversity of Kentucky
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceUniversity of Kentucky Master's Theses

Page generated in 0.0019 seconds