Knowledge of dietary compositions is essential to the recovery of the dwindling populations of horseshoe crabs in China.The feeding habits of Tachypleus tridentatus and Carcinoscorpis rotundicauda of Pearl Bay in sout...Knowledge of dietary compositions is essential to the recovery of the dwindling populations of horseshoe crabs in China.The feeding habits of Tachypleus tridentatus and Carcinoscorpis rotundicauda of Pearl Bay in southwestern China were studied by stable isotope analysis.Hemolymph samples of the two species were obtained from two age groups living in different habitats(inner,central,and outer Bay).In addition,their potential food source samples were collected in May 2019.Results showed that the mean values ofδ^(13)C andδ^(15)N in C.rotundicauda individuals ranged from−19.01‰to−16.47‰and from 10.49‰to 13.5‰,respectively,and those of T.tridentatus ranged from−19.12‰to−14.96‰and from 8.78‰to 13.48‰,respectively.These values indicated that the horseshoe crabs have a wide variety of food sources and therefore are highly omnivorous.No remarkably correlations were found betweenδ^(13)C andδ^(15)N values and individual widths in the two species.Thirteen potential food sources were selected,in which Sipunculus nudus,Batillaria zonalisi,and Ulva lactuca contributed largely to the dietary compositions of the two species of horseshoe crabs.No significant correlation was found between the feeding habits and habitat geochemical characteristics of the horseshoe crabs.All these results possibly indicate the high diversity of their food sources and the indiscriminate dietary compositions of the two Asian horseshoe crabs.展开更多
基金the Scientific Research Project of Huaqiao University(No.605-50X18005)Guangxi Bagui Youth Scholars ProgrammeGuangxi Recruitment Program of 100 Global Experts。
文摘Knowledge of dietary compositions is essential to the recovery of the dwindling populations of horseshoe crabs in China.The feeding habits of Tachypleus tridentatus and Carcinoscorpis rotundicauda of Pearl Bay in southwestern China were studied by stable isotope analysis.Hemolymph samples of the two species were obtained from two age groups living in different habitats(inner,central,and outer Bay).In addition,their potential food source samples were collected in May 2019.Results showed that the mean values ofδ^(13)C andδ^(15)N in C.rotundicauda individuals ranged from−19.01‰to−16.47‰and from 10.49‰to 13.5‰,respectively,and those of T.tridentatus ranged from−19.12‰to−14.96‰and from 8.78‰to 13.48‰,respectively.These values indicated that the horseshoe crabs have a wide variety of food sources and therefore are highly omnivorous.No remarkably correlations were found betweenδ^(13)C andδ^(15)N values and individual widths in the two species.Thirteen potential food sources were selected,in which Sipunculus nudus,Batillaria zonalisi,and Ulva lactuca contributed largely to the dietary compositions of the two species of horseshoe crabs.No significant correlation was found between the feeding habits and habitat geochemical characteristics of the horseshoe crabs.All these results possibly indicate the high diversity of their food sources and the indiscriminate dietary compositions of the two Asian horseshoe crabs.
