Burrow tenure in the fiddler crab Uca capricornis

Crabs sometimes vacate their territories due to continued harassment by their neighbours. To determine whether male-female pairs were longer lasting than male-male pairs, we documented the number of crabs that were still present in their same burrow after 24 hours. 20 Focal males were selected: 10 with male nearest neighbours and 10 with female nearest neighbours. The following day, at the same time relative to low tide, we determined whether the crabs were in the same burrows. Data recorded included: the tidal height and time, and whether each crab was present or not. A new set of 20 pairs were marked each day over a period of 26 days. \n\nThe data suggests the crabs were less likely to change burrows during neap tides. Males with female neighbours also tended to be more stable than males with male neighbours.

蟹类有时会因邻蟹的持续骚扰而放弃自身领地。为探究雄性-雌性配对是否比雄性-雄性配对更为持久，我们记录了24小时后仍栖息于原洞穴的蟹类数量。我们共选取20只目标雄性个体：其中10只的近邻为雄性蟹，另外10只的近邻为雌性蟹。次日，在与低潮时刻相对应的同一观测时点，我们确认每只蟹是否仍栖息于原洞穴内。本次采集的观测数据涵盖：潮汐高度、观测时刻，以及每只蟹是否仍留存于原洞穴内。在为期26天的实验周期内，我们每日都会标记一组全新的20对蟹类。

实验数据表明，蟹类在小潮（neap tide）期间更换洞穴的概率更低。拥有雌性邻蟹的雄性个体，其洞穴驻留稳定性也相较于拥有雄性邻蟹的雄性个体更高。