Abstract
Effective conservation of biodiversity requires good ecological information on species, populations and communities. This is particularly true for the Malaysia state of Sarawak in Borneo, whose rich biological diversity remains poorly documented, with many wetland species facing serious threats resulting from habitat alteration, pollution and overexploitation. This study aims to quantify the ecological characteristics of an endemic potamid freshwater crab, Isolapotamon bauense Ng 1987, a species listed as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A capture-mark-recapture exercise was conducted at two sites along a stream at Gunung Serambu in the Bau region to better understand the ecology of this species. Our results reveal a sex ratio of 1:1, whereas analysis of carapace width-weight relationship document a negative allometric growth pattern and a relatively low condition factor for intermediate sized specimens. Males and females do not differ significantly in body mass and there is no obvious sexual size dimorphism. Over the month long study, the size frequency of carapace classes indicates the population was dominated by smaller size-classes. A linear regression shows a trend in the number of crabs captured with lower air temperatures and higher relative humidity. It also suggests a strong positive correlation with the depth of associated streams, used as a proxy for soil water saturation. We use the MARK program to estimate the overall population size at 90 m2 sampling area, utilizing Akaike’s Information Criterion for model selection. The best model incorporated individual heterogeneity and the effect of rain during the survey on capture probability. The population estimate is 133 individuals with 95 % confidence interval of 106–187. Other ecological aspects of the species, such as local distribution and, habitat and food preferences, will need to be studied in order to develop a concise conservation plan for the species.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bello Olusoji OA, Anifowose OJ, Sodamola MY (2009) Length-weight relationships, condition factor and fecundity of the West Africa freshwater crab, Sudanonautes africanus (Milne-Edwards, 1833), in western Nigeria. West Afr J Appl Ecol 16:65–74
Brook BW, Sodhi NS, Ng PKL (2003) Catastrophic extinctions follow deforestation in Singapore. Nature 424:420–423
Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and inference, 2nd edn. Springer, New York
Christiansen B, Pfannkuche O, Thiel H (1990) Vertical distribution and population structure of the necrophagus amphipods Eurythenes gryllus in the West European Basin. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 66:35–45
Collins NM (1980) The habitat and populations of terrestrial crabs (Brachyura: Gecarcinucidea and Grapsoidea) in the Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. Zool Meded 55(7):81–85
Cumberlidge N, Daniels SR (2008) A conservation assessment of the freshwater crabs of southern Africa (Brachyura: Potamonautidae). Afr J Ecol 46:74–79
Cumberlidge N, Ng PKL, Yeo DCJ, Magalhães C, Campos MR, Alvarez F, Naruse T, Daniels SR, Esser LJ, Attipoe FYK, Clotilde-Ba F-L, Darwall W, McIvor A, Baillie JEM, Collen B, Ram M (2009) Freshwater crabs and the biodiversity crisis: importance, threats, status, and conservation challenges. Biol Conserv 142:1665–1673
Cumberlidge N, Ng PKL, Yeo DCJ, Naruse T, Meyer KS, Esser LJ (2011) Diversity, endemism and conservation of the freshwater crabs of China (Brachyura: Potamidae and Gecarcinucidae). Integr Zool 6:45–55
Cumberlidge N, Ng PKL, Yeo DCJ (2012) Freshwater crabs of the Indo-Burma hotspot: diversity, distribution and conservation. In: Allen DJ, Smith KG, Darwall WRT (eds) The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in Indo-Burma. IUCN- The World Conservation Union, Cambridge/Gland, pp 102–113
Dodd CK Jr, Hyslop NL, Oli MK (2012) The effects of disturbance on abundance and sex ratio of a terrestrial turtle, Terrapene bauri. Chelonian Conserv Biol 11(1):44–49
Froese R (2006) Cube law, condition factor and weight-length relationships: history, meta-analysis and recommendations. J Appl Ichthyol 22:241–253
Grinang J, Ng PKL (2014) Taxonomy of freshwater crab Coccusa cristicervix Ng & Grinang, 2004 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae), with description of a new species of Thelphusula from Sarawak, Borneo. Raffles Bull Zool 62:389–395
Hill MP, O’Keeffe JH (1992) Some aspects of the ecology of the freshwater crab (Potamonautes perlatus Milne-Edwards) in the upper reaches of the Buffalo River, eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Afr J Aquat Sci 18(2):42–50
IUCN (2012) IUCN red list categories and criteria: version 3.1, 2nd edn. IUCN, Gland/Cambridge
IUCN (2013) IUCN Red List of threatened species. Version 2013.2. www.iucnredlist.org
Krishnamurthy SVB, Reddy AHM (2008) An estimate of local population of Nyctibatrachus aliciae at two habitat gradients of forest in Western Ghats. Acta Herpetol 3(1):51–55
McFarlane DA, Lundberg J (2012) The status of the Niah cave crab, Adeleana chapmani (Decapoda: Gecarcinucidae), Sarawak, Malaysia. Speleobiol Notes 4:29–33
Ng PKL (1987) Freshwater crabs of the genus Isolapotamon Bott, 1968 from Sarawak, Borneo (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Potamidae). Sarawak Mus J 37(new ser):139–153, Pl. 7
Ng PKL (2013) Stygothelphusa cranbrooki, a new species of crab from Gua Sireh, Sarawak, Malaysia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae). Raffles Bull Zool Suppl 29:91–97
Ng PKL, Grinang J (2004) Decapod crustaceans with descriptions of three new species. In: Yong HS, Ng FSP, Yen EEL (eds) Sarawak Bau limestone biodiversity, Sarawak Mus J 59 (new ser) Special Issue No. 6, pp 299–325
Ng PKL, Grinang J (2014) A new species of troglobitic crab of the genus Stygothelphusa Ng, 1989, from Sarawak, Malaysia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae). Zootaxa 3774(1):90–96
Ng PKL, Tan SH (1998) A revision of the Southeast Asian freshwater crabs of the genus Isolapotamon Bott, 1968 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae). Proc Biol Soc Wash 111:52–80
Ng PKL, Yeo DCJ (2007) Malaysian freshwater crabs: conservation prospects and challenges. In: Chua L (ed) Proceedings of the seminar on the status of biological diversity in Malaysia and threat assessment of plant species in Malaysia. Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, pp 95–120
Ng PKL, Guinot D, Davie PJF (2008) Systema brachyurorum: part I. An annotated checklist of extant brachyuran crabs of the world. Raffles Bull Zool 17:1–286
Nowicki P, Tirelli T, Sartor RM, Bona F, Pessani D (2008) Monitoring crayfish using a mark-recapture method: potentials, recommendations, and limitations. Biodivers Conserv 17:3513–3560
Otis DL, Burnham KP, White GC, Anderson DR (1978) Statistical inference from capture data on closed animal populations. Wildlife Monogr 3–135
Patil KM, Patil MU (2012) Length-weight relationship and condition factor of freshwater crab Barytelphusa gurini, (Decapoda, Brachyura). J Exp Sci 3(5):13–15
Pham L, Boudreaux S, Karhbet S, Price B, Ackleh AS, Carter J, Pal N (2007) Population estimates of Hyla cinera (Schneider) (Green Tree Frog) in an urban environment. Southeast Nat 6(2):203–216
Tenan S, Vallespir AR, Igual JM, Moya O, Royle JA, Tavecchia G (2013) Population abundance, size structure and sex ratio in an insular lizard. Ecol Model 267:39–47
Wildlife Conservation Society, Sarawak Forest Department (1996) A master plan for wild life in Sarawak. Wildlife Conservation Society and Sarawak Forest Department, Kuching
Yeo DCJ, Ng PKL, Cumberlidge N, Magalhães C, Daniels SR, Campos MR (2008) Global diversity of crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:575–286
Acknowledgments
The study was partially funded by The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (Project 13054042) L18403I0100 Isolapotamonng, Shell Research Chair SRC/06/2010(02) and Mount Serambu Multidisciplinary Study, L18403 I0100. Field work was assisted by Lexter Nuon and Joseph Bidau from Peninjau Lama Village. Thanks also go to Michael E. Meredith and Ngumbang Juat for assistance and discussion on statistical analyses. Andrew Alek Tuen, Alexander K. Sayok, Erdiana Odan, Pui Yong Min and Wadell Pahon provided support in many ways.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grinang, J., Das, I., Ng, P. (2016). Ecological Characteristics of the Freshwater Crab, Isolapotamon bauense in One of Wallace’s Collecting Sites. In: Das, I., Tuen, A. (eds) Naturalists, Explorers and Field Scientists in South-East Asia and Australasia. Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26161-4_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26161-4_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26159-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26161-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)