Owner Advantage in the fiddler crab, Uca mjoebergi. Fight data between burrow owners and natural floaters

Resource owners generally win contests against intruders, a phenomenon referred to as the 'Owner Advantage' (OA). Uca mjoebergi is a typical fiddler crab that is highly sociable, territorial and lives in mixed sex colonies on intertidal mudflats. Burrows are used in territory defence, for mating, and as refuge from predators and environmental stresses. Fights are common between owners and floating males who battle for ownership of the territory and burrow. \n\nExperiments were conducted from 28th Sept - 30 Dec 2006 at the lower reaches of Ludmilla Creek within East Point Reserve, 5km North of Darwin, NT. This experiment found that when attacked by naturally occurring floaters, owners were most likely to win fights. Owners won 91.9% of fights against naturally occurring floaters. There is therefore a strong ownership advantage in this species.