Determination of sex-related feeding characteristics of two different crabs (Carcinus aestuarii and Eriphia verrucosa) distributed in the Çanakkale Strait

In this study, the sex-related feeding characteristics of two different crab species (Carcinus aestuarii, Eriphia verrucosa) distributed in the Çanakkale Strait were investigated. The stomach contents of ۳۵ individuals of C. aestuarii and ۲۴ individuals of E. verrucosa were evaluated. It was observed that ۱۵ female individuals of C. aestuarii fed on fish bones (IRI%= ۶۳,۷۸) and algal fragments (IRI%=,۷,۵۱) while ۲۰ male individuals fed on fish bones (IRI%= ۶۰,۸۹) detritus (IRI%= ۲,۹۳), molluscs (IRI%= ۲,۳۹) and microplastics (IRI%= ۱,۲). It was observed that ۱۴ female individuals of E. verrucosa fed mainly on echinoderm (IRI%= ۳۶,۵) and fish (IRI%= ۲۵,۵), while ۱۰ male individuals fed on molluscs (IRI%= ۱۸,۶), fish (IRI%= ۱۲,۵) echinoderm (IRI%=۱۱,۲), detritus (IRI%= ۱,۲۳) and plastics (IRI%= ۰,۱۲). It was revealed that the sex-related feeding characteristics of these two crab species, which are known to be distributed in different habitats, are similar and females are more selective than males. It was also observed that female individuals did not feed on plastics and detritus in both crab species.

کلیدواژه ها:

stomach content ، IRI ، Carcinus aestuarii ، Eriphia verrucosa ، Çanakkale Strait