(full paper is archived in the Miller Library)
Title: Microhabitat partitioning and organization of three
species of spider crabs (Brachyura, Majidae) within a central
California kelp forest community
Student Author(s): Hilpert, Matthew R.
Robbins, Jeffrey L.
Faculty Advisor(s): Pearse, John
Pages: 56
Location: Senior Thesis UC Santa Cruz
Date: June 1 1995
Abstract: "Forests of giant kelp, Macrocystis
pyrifera, are common features of shallow rocky bottom habitats
throughout the world's temperate seas" (Harrold and Pearse
1987:131). Many taxa of vertebrates and invertebrates are
represented within a single kelp (M. pyrifera) forest
community. The structure of a kelp forest community is dependent
upon both the physical nature of the environment and the interactions
between organisms in the community (Reed et al. 1984). A common
group of organisms inhabiting kelp forests are the Decapod
crustaceans. Forty-two species of Decapods were recorded in a
1976-1977 study of a kelp forest in Hopkins Marine Life Refuge (HMLR)
in Pacific Grove California (Pearse, Lowry eds. 1974). Of the
decapods identified, three of the brachyurans, Scyra
acutifrons, Mimulus foliatus, and Pugettia richii
were found to be common inhabitants of the HMLR kelp forest.
Brachyuran spider crabs have been found to be "important trophic
links in the food web of the system" (Hines 1982:180). These
three species of spider crabs of the family Majidae are characterized
by similar size, morphology, a terminal molt at puberty when growth
ceases, and sexual dimorphism (Hines 1982)...