Effect of locality on aggressive behavior in the invasive species, Procambarus clarkii
Abstract
Climate change homogenizes habitat globally, facilitating the expansion and rapid proliferation of invasive species which damage the newly invaded ecosystem. Intraspecific aggression among an invasive species is an important focus in ecological studies because it can contribute to their overall success as invaders. The crayfish species, Procambarus clarkii, inhabits freshwater streams in the Santa Monica Mountains (Los Angeles, CA) as a highly aggressive invasive predator. These invasive crayfish are well known for their highly aggressive interactions with conspecifics. It has been shown that body size, temperature, sex, and level of hunger influence their levels of aggression. However, there is a lack of research that investigates how population demography affects agonistic interactions between crayfish. In this study we investigated the effect of site origin on intraspecific aggression of Procambarus clarkii. To test this question, we conducted experimentally controlled trials with pairs of crayfish from the same stream locale and different stream locales and scored their level of aggressive interaction. Crayfish from different stream locales displayed significantly higher intensities of intraspecific aggressive interactions compared to crayfish pairs from the same locale (P < 0.01, two tailed t test). Crayfish interactions that involved two crayfish from a different site had an average aggression score of 2.49, while crayfish interactions that involved two crayfish from the same site had an average aggression score of 1.60. This study highlights the impact recognition plays in intraspecific crayfish aggression, which ultimately, can contribute to their success as an invasive species.
Effect of locality on aggressive behavior in the invasive species, Procambarus clarkii
Waves Cafeteria
Climate change homogenizes habitat globally, facilitating the expansion and rapid proliferation of invasive species which damage the newly invaded ecosystem. Intraspecific aggression among an invasive species is an important focus in ecological studies because it can contribute to their overall success as invaders. The crayfish species, Procambarus clarkii, inhabits freshwater streams in the Santa Monica Mountains (Los Angeles, CA) as a highly aggressive invasive predator. These invasive crayfish are well known for their highly aggressive interactions with conspecifics. It has been shown that body size, temperature, sex, and level of hunger influence their levels of aggression. However, there is a lack of research that investigates how population demography affects agonistic interactions between crayfish. In this study we investigated the effect of site origin on intraspecific aggression of Procambarus clarkii. To test this question, we conducted experimentally controlled trials with pairs of crayfish from the same stream locale and different stream locales and scored their level of aggressive interaction. Crayfish from different stream locales displayed significantly higher intensities of intraspecific aggressive interactions compared to crayfish pairs from the same locale (P < 0.01, two tailed t test). Crayfish interactions that involved two crayfish from a different site had an average aggression score of 2.49, while crayfish interactions that involved two crayfish from the same site had an average aggression score of 1.60. This study highlights the impact recognition plays in intraspecific crayfish aggression, which ultimately, can contribute to their success as an invasive species.