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Shell preference in a hermit crab: comparison between a matrix of paired comparisons and a multiple-alternative experiment

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Abstract

The preference of the hermit crab, Calcinus californiensis, among six species of shells, was tested by two different experiments. The first experiment used pair-wise trials, analyzing the preference by Chi-square tests using two different constructions of the null hypothesis. One hypothesis was based on a no-preference among shell species, the second on comparing the number of crabs changing for a particular shell species when two options were given versus the changing when no options were offered. The second experiment was a multiple-alternative test based on a rank ordering of the shell preference. This method has both statistical and resource-saving advantages over the traditional pair-wise comparisons. The sequence of shell preference was similarly independent of the procedure used. The preferred shell species are heavy and might be associated with hydrodynamic advantages and with the protection against predation. The shell preference matches with the pattern of shell occupancy indicating that the shell use in nature is determined by the crab’s preference. The information generated may be used for further research on shell preference as a methodological alternative.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the program PAPIIT-UNAM (IN207209-3). We particularly thank the Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, UNAM, for providing a full scholarship and all support to the first author. We thank Karla Kruesi for technical support in the laboratory. Field assistance by Barbara Casillas, Cynthia Flores, Carlos Chavez, Karla Kruesi, and Leslie Cid is much appreciated. We thank Maite Mascaro for helpful comments and Julieta Navarrete for support during the field work. Thanks to Dr. Ellis Glazier for editing this English-language text.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04360, Mexico City, Mexico

    Elsah Arce

  2. Laboratorio de Ecofisiología, Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04360, Mexico City, Mexico

    Guillermina Alcaraz

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  1. Elsah Arce
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  2. Guillermina Alcaraz
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Correspondence to Elsah Arce or Guillermina Alcaraz.

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Communicated by P. Kraufvelin.

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Arce, E., Alcaraz, G. Shell preference in a hermit crab: comparison between a matrix of paired comparisons and a multiple-alternative experiment. Mar Biol 159, 853–862 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1861-x

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