Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, <i>Portunus segnis</i> (Forskål, 1775) and <i>P. sanguinolentus</i> (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi

Shazia Rasheed; Javed Mustaquim

doi:doi:10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11

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Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi

Shazia Rasheed, Javed Mustaquim

Published in Animal and Veterinary Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 3)

Received: 26 April 2018 Accepted: 17 May 2018 Published: 25 June 2018

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Abstract

Stomach contents of 558 Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and 426 P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), from coastal waters of Karachi were examined. Crabs were collected from Korangi Creek, Karachi from January 2004 to December 2005. The frequency of occurrence and points methods were used for the stomach contents analysis. Out of 558 P. segnis and 426 P. sanguinolentus, 254 (45.52%) and 227 (53.3%) crabs had empty stomach, respectively. Mollusca and Crustacea dominated the diet of both the species. According to points method Mollusca and Crustacea scored 67.28% and 53.8% points in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. When analyzed by frequency of occurrence method Mollusca and Crustacea occurred in 88.37% and 71.4% stomachs in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. Majority of the Mollusca eaten by P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus were small soft-shelled bivalves while Crustacea included mostly small crabs. Small fish, shrimps, polychaete worms, sponges, starfishes, brittle stars, bryozoans, and plant (algae) materials were also present in some stomachs in small quantity. Results of the present study suggest that the two crab species are opportunistic predator competing for food in the natural environment.

Published in	Animal and Veterinary Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11
Page(s)	35-42
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Stomach Content, Portunid Crabs, Pakistan

References

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Shazia Rasheed, Javed Mustaquim. (2018). Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi. Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 6(3), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11

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ACS Style

Shazia Rasheed; Javed Mustaquim. Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi. Anim. Vet. Sci. 2018, 6(3), 35-42. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11

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AMA Style

Shazia Rasheed, Javed Mustaquim. Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi. Anim Vet Sci. 2018;6(3):35-42. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11

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@article{10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11,
  author = {Shazia Rasheed and Javed Mustaquim},
  title = {Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi},
  journal = {Animal and Veterinary Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {35-42},
  doi = {10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.avs.20180603.11},
  abstract = {Stomach contents of 558 Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and 426 P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), from coastal waters of Karachi were examined. Crabs were collected from Korangi Creek, Karachi from January 2004 to December 2005. The frequency of occurrence and points methods were used for the stomach contents analysis. Out of 558 P. segnis and 426 P. sanguinolentus, 254 (45.52%) and 227 (53.3%) crabs had empty stomach, respectively. Mollusca and Crustacea dominated the diet of both the species. According to points method Mollusca and Crustacea scored 67.28% and 53.8% points in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. When analyzed by frequency of occurrence method Mollusca and Crustacea occurred in 88.37% and 71.4% stomachs in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. Majority of the Mollusca eaten by P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus were small soft-shelled bivalves while Crustacea included mostly small crabs. Small fish, shrimps, polychaete worms, sponges, starfishes, brittle stars, bryozoans, and plant (algae) materials were also present in some stomachs in small quantity. Results of the present study suggest that the two crab species are opportunistic predator competing for food in the natural environment.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi
AU - Shazia Rasheed
AU - Javed Mustaquim
Y1 - 2018/06/25
PY - 2018
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11
DO - 10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11
T2 - Animal and Veterinary Sciences
JF - Animal and Veterinary Sciences
JO - Animal and Veterinary Sciences
SP - 35
EP - 42
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-5850
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11
AB - Stomach contents of 558 Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and 426 P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), from coastal waters of Karachi were examined. Crabs were collected from Korangi Creek, Karachi from January 2004 to December 2005. The frequency of occurrence and points methods were used for the stomach contents analysis. Out of 558 P. segnis and 426 P. sanguinolentus, 254 (45.52%) and 227 (53.3%) crabs had empty stomach, respectively. Mollusca and Crustacea dominated the diet of both the species. According to points method Mollusca and Crustacea scored 67.28% and 53.8% points in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. When analyzed by frequency of occurrence method Mollusca and Crustacea occurred in 88.37% and 71.4% stomachs in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. Majority of the Mollusca eaten by P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus were small soft-shelled bivalves while Crustacea included mostly small crabs. Small fish, shrimps, polychaete worms, sponges, starfishes, brittle stars, bryozoans, and plant (algae) materials were also present in some stomachs in small quantity. Results of the present study suggest that the two crab species are opportunistic predator competing for food in the natural environment.
VL - 6
IS - 3
ER -

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Author Information

Shazia Rasheed

Faculty of Marine Sciences, Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Uthal, Pakistan
Javed Mustaquim

Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

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Shazia Rasheed, Javed Mustaquim. (2018). Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi. Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 6(3), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11

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Shazia Rasheed; Javed Mustaquim. Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi. Anim. Vet. Sci. 2018, 6(3), 35-42. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11

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AMA Style

Shazia Rasheed, Javed Mustaquim. Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi. Anim Vet Sci. 2018;6(3):35-42. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11

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@article{10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11,
  author = {Shazia Rasheed and Javed Mustaquim},
  title = {Natural Diet of Two Commercial Crab Species, Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), in the Coastal Waters of Karachi},
  journal = {Animal and Veterinary Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {35-42},
  doi = {10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20180603.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.avs.20180603.11},
  abstract = {Stomach contents of 558 Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) and 426 P. sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783), from coastal waters of Karachi were examined. Crabs were collected from Korangi Creek, Karachi from January 2004 to December 2005. The frequency of occurrence and points methods were used for the stomach contents analysis. Out of 558 P. segnis and 426 P. sanguinolentus, 254 (45.52%) and 227 (53.3%) crabs had empty stomach, respectively. Mollusca and Crustacea dominated the diet of both the species. According to points method Mollusca and Crustacea scored 67.28% and 53.8% points in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. When analyzed by frequency of occurrence method Mollusca and Crustacea occurred in 88.37% and 71.4% stomachs in P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus, respectively. Majority of the Mollusca eaten by P. segnis and P. sanguinolentus were small soft-shelled bivalves while Crustacea included mostly small crabs. Small fish, shrimps, polychaete worms, sponges, starfishes, brittle stars, bryozoans, and plant (algae) materials were also present in some stomachs in small quantity. Results of the present study suggest that the two crab species are opportunistic predator competing for food in the natural environment.},
 year = {2018}
}

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