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Interspecific differences in the burrow morphology between the sympatric mud shrimps, Austinogebia narutensis and Upogebia issaeffi (Crustacea: Thalassinidea: Upogebiidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2005

Kyoko Kinoshita
Affiliation:
Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3-1-100 Tsukide, Kumamoto 862-8502, Japan
Gyo Itani
Affiliation:
Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, 3 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Kochi University, Akebono, Kochi 780-8520, Japan
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Abstract

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The morphology of burrows constructed by the upogebiid mud shrimps Austinogebia narutensis and Upogebia issaeffi was studied using resin castings of burrows in situ on Mukaishima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Japan, where the two species occurred sympatrically. The burrow structure of both shrimps is a relatively simple Y-shaped pattern, which is typical of the family Upogebiidae. Total burrow length, and length and overall width of the U-shaped section of A. narutensis were greater than those of U. issaeffi, possibly because A. narutensis is the larger species. When the ratios of the burrow measurements to the mean burrow diameter were compared to exclude possible size effects, the burrows of A. narutensis had a wider and shallower U-shaped section than those of U. issaeffi. Because the casts were made where the two species occurred sympatrically, the differences in the burrow morphology were not due to the differences in environmental factors but to the difference in the shrimp species, whether they are adaptive or not.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2005 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom