Sustainable Marine Structures

Global Distribution of Brachyuran Crabs in Mangroves

Wah Wah Min

Center of Excellence for Ecoinformatics, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80161, Thailand

K. Kathiresan

Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, 608502, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36956/sms.v6i1.1023

Received: 22 January 2024; Revised: 10 March 2024; Accepted: 21 March 2024; Published Online: 30 March 2024

---

Abstract

The present work has compiled a total of 389 brachyuran crab species belonging to 188 genera and 38 families to be present in mangrove forests across 122 countries/territories in 10 sub-regions of two global hemispheres viz., Indo-West Pacific (IWP) and Atlantic East Pacific (AEP). The mangrove crabs are highly diverse in the IWP as compared to AEP. They exceed 100 species in nine countries of the IWP viz., Indonesia, India, Japan, Thailand, Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, and China. The least number of mangrove crab species (> 10) are found to be present in 38 countries under the AEP. Four countries/territories do not have any record of mangrove crabs. Sesarmidae is the predominant family of mangrove crabs, followed by Ocypodidae and Portunidae. The present work also has brought out 818 synonyms, which otherwise interfere with the preparation of a checklist for an exact number of crab species. It is a matter of necessity to conserve the crabs, which are keystone species of the mangrove ecosystems.

Keywords: Mangroves; Brachyuran crabs; Keystone species; Species diversity; Occurrence and distribution; Checklist; Synonyms; Sesarmidae; Ocypodidae; Portunidae; IUCN; Indo-West Pacific; Atlantic East Pacific

---

References

[1] Jones, D.A., 1984. Hydrobiology of the Mangal. The Ecosystem of the Mangrove Forests. Publisher Springer: Dordrecht. pp. 89–109.

[2] Smith III, T.J., Boto, K.G., Frusher, S.D., et al, 1991. Keystone species and mangrove forest dynamics: The influence of burrowing by crabs on soil nutrient status and forest productivity. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 33, 419–432. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7714(91)90081-L

[3] Lee, S.Y., 1998. Ecological role of grapsid crabs in mangrove ecosystems—a review. Marine and Freshwater Research. 49, 335–343. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/MF97179

[4] Wah Wah Min, Kathiresan, K., 2021. Burrow morphologies, crab characteristics and soil properties in different seasons across intertidal areas of a restored mangrove forest. Journal of Sea Research. 177, 102111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2021.102111

[5] Min, W.W., Kathiresan, K., Balakrishnan, B., 2023. Crab species-specific excavation and architecture of burrows in restored mangrove habitat. Journal of Marine Sciences & Engineering. 11, 310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11020310

[6] Sathish, C., Reddy, D.N., Bharti, V.S. et al., 2023. Diversity and distribution of mangrove associated crabs (Infraorder: Brachyura) of India and the relationship between mangroves and crabs. Thalassas. 39, 847–866. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-023-00578-x

[7] Ravichandran, S., Sylvester Fredrick. W., Ajmal Khan, S., et al., 2011. Diversity of mangrove crabs in South and South East Asia. Journal of Oceanography & Marine Environmental System. 1(1), 1–7.

[8] Faunal Diversity of Mangrove Ecosystem in India [Internet]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342199185_Faunal_Diversity_of_Mangrove_Ecosystem_in_India.

[9] Sathish, C., Reddy, D.N., Bharti, V.S. et al., 2023. Diversity and distribution of mangrove associated crabs (Infraorder: Brachyura) of India and the relationship between mangroves and crabs. Thalassas. 39, 847–866. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-023-00578-x

[10] Vergara-Filho, W.L., Alves, .R.P., et al., 1997. Diversity and distribution of crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) in mangroves of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mangrove Ecosystem Studies in Latin America and Africa. Kjerfve, B., Lacerda, L.D., Diop, S. (Eds.), UNESCO, Paris, pp.155-162. Available from: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:132675988

[11] Tan, C.G.S., Ng, P.K.L., 1994. An annotated checklist of mangrove brachyuran crabs from Malaysia and Singapore. Hydrobiologia. 285(1-3), 75–84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005655

[12] Davie, P.J.F., 1982. A preliminary checklist of brachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda) associated with Australian mangrove forests. Operculum. 5, 204–207.

[13] Abele, L.G., 1992. A review of the grapsid crab genus sesarma (Crustacea: Decapoda: Grapsidae) in America, with the description of a new genus. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 527, 1–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.527

[14] Davie, P.J.F., 1992. A new species and new records of intertidal crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura)from Hong Kong. J. Crust. Biol. 18, 57–63.

[15] Davie, P.J.F., 1994. Variations in diversity of mangrove crabs in tropical Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 36(1), 55–58.

[16] Schubart, C.D., 2009. Mitochondrial DNA and decapod phylogenies; the importance of pseudogenes and primer optimization. Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics. Taylor & Francis/CRC Press: Boca Raton, Florida. pp. 45–63.

[17] Ng, Peter K.L., Danièle Guinot, Davie Peter J.F., 2008. Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An Annotated Checklist Of Extant Brachyuran Crabs Of The World. The Raffles Bulletin Of Zoology. 17, 1–286.

[18] Carugati, L., Gatto, B., Rastelli, E., et al., 2018. Impact of mangrove forests degradation on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Scientific Reports, 8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31683-0

[19] Cannicci, S., Schubart, C.D., Innocenti, G., et al., 2017. A new species of the genus Parasesarma De Man 1895 from East African mangroves and evidence for mitochondrial introgression in sesarmid crabs. Zool. Anz. 269, 89–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2017.08.002

[20] Vanessa, M.N., Ndongo, D., Martin, K., et al., 2018. Brachyuran crab diversity and abundance patterns in the mangroves of Cameroon. Regional Studies in Marine Science. 24, 324–335. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2018.09.010

[21] Krauss, K.W., Friess, D.A. 2010. World atlas of mangroves. Wetlands. 31, 1003–1005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-011-0224-1

[22] Abele, L.G., 1992. A Review of the grapsid crab genus sesarma (Crustacea: Decapoda: Grapsidae) in America, with the description of a new genus. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 527, 1–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.527

[23] Prosser Andrew J., 2004. Faunal community change following Mangrove Dieback in Moreton Bay, Australia [Bachelor thesis]. University of Queensland: Queensland.

[24] Anger, K., 2001. The biology of decapods crustacean larvae. Balkema Publishers: Lisse. pp. 417.

[25] Fusi, M., Giomi, F., Simone Babbini., et al., 2015. Thermal specialization across large geographical scales predicts the resilience of mangrove crab populations to global warming. Oikos. 124, 784–795. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.01757

[26] Alberts-Hubatsch, H., Meynecke, J.O., Nordhaus, I., et al., 2016. Life-history, movement, and habitat use of Scylla serrata (Decapoda, Portunidae): Current knowledge and future challenges. Hydrobiologia. 763, 5–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2393-z