Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Larval development reflects biogeography in two formerly synonymised southern African coastal crabs
Papadopoulos, I.; Teske, P.R. (2014). Larval development reflects biogeography in two formerly synonymised southern African coastal crabs. Afr. J. Aquat. Sci. 39(3): 347-350. https://dx.doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2014.938600
In: African Journal of Aquatic Science. NISC: Grahamstown. ISSN 1608-5914; e-ISSN 1727-9364, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Hymenosoma longicrure; Hymenosoma orbiculare Desmarest, 1823 [WoRMS]
    Marine/Coastal; Brackish water
Author keywords
    crown crab, Hymenosoma longicrure, Hymenosoma orbiculare, planktonic larval duration, range limits, temperature stress, thermal adaptation, zoea

Authors  Top 
  • Papadopoulos, I., more
  • Teske, P.R.

Abstract
    The southern African crab Hymenosoma orbiculare was recently split into five distinct species, of which three are estuarine/coastal and have peripatric distributions that are linked to temperature-defined marine bioregions. This suggests that the species’ ranges may be limited by physiological adaptations to their thermal environment. We explored this hypothesis by rearing the larvae of the warm-temperate lineage of H. orbiculare and the warm-temperate/subtropical H. longicrure at a range of water temperatures, and found clear temperature-dependent differences in the duration of larval development. Our study contributes to the growing body of evidence that stresses the importance of adaptation to regional environmental conditions, rather than physical dispersal barriers on their own, in limiting the mixing of marine species between temperature-defined biogeographic regions.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors