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Food and feeding of the blue swimmer crab, Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, brachyura) along the Coast of Mandapam, Tamil Nadu, India

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Relation http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/8733/
 
Title Food and feeding of the blue swimmer crab, Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, brachyura) along the Coast of Mandapam, Tamil Nadu, India
 
Creator Josileen, Jose
 
Subject Food and Feeding
Crabs
 
Description Food habits of the blue swimmer crab, Portunus pelagicus were investigated using specimens
collected from trawl catches in the Mandapam region, Tamil Nadu, along the east coast of India
(9◦20-25_N 79 ◦ 5-10_E), during the period January to December, 1999. The stomach contents
of 452 crabs, ranging from 61 to 180 mm carapace width, were analysed. Their diet included
crustaceans, molluscs, fishes, unidentifiable matter, and debris. In adult crabs, crustaceans constituted
the dominant food source and these were present in 78.43% of the stomachs analysed. The
stomach contents of juveniles and sub-adults were dominated by debris. There was no significant
difference between sexes in the frequency of occurrence of food items or in their “percentage points”
[= the (virtual) percentual contribution to the fullness of a 100% full stomach]. However, there
was a difference between the stomachs of ovigerous and non-ovigerous females. There were also
significant differences in the preference for food items in the different size groups of the crab. The
results collected from the present study showed that P. pelagicus exhibits, in this region at least, a
clear preference for crustaceans.
 
Publisher Kluwer
 
Date 2011
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/8733/1/Food_%26_feeding_paper_-Crustaceana-JJ.pdf
Josileen, Jose (2011) Food and feeding of the blue swimmer crab, Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, brachyura) along the Coast of Mandapam, Tamil Nadu, India. Crustaceana, 84 (10). pp. 1169-1180.