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Invasive versus native brachyuran crabs in a European rocky intertidal: respiratory performance and energy expenditures

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Abstract

The invasive Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus is now the second most abundant intertidal crab in the North Sea after the native European green crab Carcinus maenas. To compare their respiratory performance and energy expenditures, we measured standard respiration rates of both species from around the island of Helgoland, North Sea, Germany (54°11′N, 7°53′E) in 2015. Oxygen consumption was recorded in a flow-through setup between 5 and 20 °C. At lower temperatures, H. sanguineus had similar respiration rates as C. maenas, but approximately twofold higher rates at higher temperatures. Numerical models for the calculation of individual respiration rates were established and applied to the entire intertidal populations around Helgoland to compare the energy expenditures of both species. Abundance and biomass data recorded in August 2014 showed that H. sanguineus reached values as high as 21 and 59%, respectively, compared to those of C. maenas. Based on these data and the numerical respiration models, the energy expenditures of both populations were calculated for the whole year 2014. The H. sanguineus population reached, depending on the assumed diet of both species (complete herbivory versus complete carnivory), 86–135% of the expenditure value of C. maenas. As population densities of H. sanguineus are likely to increase in the North Sea, the energy expenditure of the invader and thus its impact on the energy flux in the intertidal habitat will further increase. Whether this will lead to an impact on the local intertidal community depends on species-specific dietary preferences and remains to be investigated.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland and especially Dr. Jan Beermann for laboratory and temperature-controlled room space and for support, whenever needed. Hendrik Pehlke calculated the areas of the intertidal sites around Helgoland. Seawater temperature data were provided by the COSYNA system operated by Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Zentrum für Material- und Küstenforschung GmbH. We are grateful to three reviewers, whose constructive comments and suggestions greatly improved the manuscript. This study was partly supported by a RISE Internship Grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to Morgan L. McCarthy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bremen Marine Ecology (BreMarE), Marine Zoology, University of Bremen, P.O. Box 330440, 28334, Bremen, Germany

    Simon Jungblut, Karin Boos, Morgan L. McCarthy & Wilhelm Hagen

  2. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, P.O. Box 120161, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Simon Jungblut, Morgan L. McCarthy & Reinhard Saborowski

  3. MARUM, Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Straße 8, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Karin Boos

  4. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Morgan L. McCarthy

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  1. Simon Jungblut
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  4. Reinhard Saborowski
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Correspondence to Simon Jungblut.

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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of the marine invertebrate animals were followed in this study.

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Jungblut, S., Boos, K., McCarthy, M.L. et al. Invasive versus native brachyuran crabs in a European rocky intertidal: respiratory performance and energy expenditures. Mar Biol 165, 54 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3313-3

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