FEEDING ECOLOGY OF TREE-CLIMBING MANGROVE SESARMID CRABS FROM LUZON, PHILIPPINES

Authors

  • JIMMY TEVAR MASAGCA
    jtmasagca@dasma.dlsu.edu.ph, jmasagca@yahoo.com.
    De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, Indonesia
Vol. 16 No. 1 (2009)
Research Paper
July 29, 2011
January 11, 2024

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Despite the large ecological study of tree-climbing mangrove sesarmid crabs in other
countries, the Philippine representatives appear to have not been investigated extensively.
This paper presents the feeding ecology as to dependence on mangrove trees of sesarmids in
different mangrove areas of southern Luzon. This is biased on the nature of the crab habitats,
arboreal climbing skills and burrowing behavior of the sesarmids:  Selatium elongatum  and
Episesarma versicolor - exclusive mangrove tree climbers (EMTC); Sarmatium germaini -
occasional mangrove tree climber (OMTC); and the non-mangrove tree-climbing (NMTC)
sesarmids- Neosarmatium smithii, Perisesarma bidens and Perisesarma eumolpe.
Key words:    mangrove crabs, sesarmid crabs, climbing skills, burrowing skills, arboreal climbing
crabs, Catanduanes, Philippines