Peer-reviewed Article
Burrow construction morphology of Ocypode rotundata Miers 1882 (Ocypodidae: Brachyura) from the sandy coastal areas of Karachi, Pakistan
Abstract
Burrow morphology of ghost crab Ocypode rotundata was studied at two stations of Sandspit beach, Karachi. A quadrate method Two-meter square (2m2) was used for burrow cast profiling. Burrow casts were shaped by pouring plaster of Paris (liquified 2:1 ratio) into the ghost crab burrows. The Burrow casts and sediment samples were collected monthly from the studied site from Jan 2012 to Dec 2013. Besides this effect of human trampling on the sandy beach was also studied. Total Six types of burrow structures were observed (I, Y, C, L, J and multiple branched (M-type)), with burrow depth between 460 mm to 1300 mm. The most common casts collected were straight I- shaped (36.8%), while M- type casts were the rarest (5.7%). All the burrow openings were found positively correlated with carapace length (r2 = 0.81). The fine grain found dominated during grain size analysis from both stations. During anthropogenic survey, the effect of human trampling was less due to private huts as compared to the control area where a smaller number of burrows were found. Current study revealed strong relationship of ghost crabs with environment, therefore, may be useful to study as ecological indicators for sandy beaches.
Full Citation
Odhano, S., N.U. Saher, M.S. Rosenberg, M.F. Hassan, and H. Soomro (2022) Burrow construction morphology of Ocypode rotundata Miers 1882 (Ocypodidae: Brachyura) from the sandy coastal areas of Karachi, Pakistan. Oceanography & Fisheries Open Access Journal 15(4):555917. [10 pages]
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