Research Questions

While at Sapelo Island, I was interested in the sexually dimorphic Atlantic Fiddler Crab (Leptuca pugilator) whose most noted trait is that the males possess an enlarged claw, comprising ~40% of their body mass. The fiddler crab's enlarged claw is an exceptional model for evolutionary and ecological study, thus I wanted to answer the following...

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1. Do left- and right-handed crabs occur at an even ratio, and if so, are they biometrical similar?

2. Does autotomy of the enlarged claw result in faster sprinting potential for an individual fiddler crab?

 

Martin B. 2019. Differences in proportional claw size among left- and right-handed Atlantic sand fiddler crabs Leptuca pugilator (Bosc, 1801) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae). Journal of Crustacean Biology. 39(6), 720-723. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruz067

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Martin B. 2019. Autotomy and running performance of fiddler crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura, Ocypodidae). Journal of Crustacean Biology. 39(5), 613-616. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruz049