Studies on social monogamy in the snapping shrimp, Alpheus lobidens De Haan, 1849

Abstract

Alpheus lobidens De Haan, 1849, like many other snapping shrimp, is a socially monogamous species typically found in male-female pairs in burrows under rocks. We evaluated mate guarding (detection of female receptivity) and shared resource defense as factors that could have led to social monogamy in Iranian populations of this common intertidal species. Males within a pair did not move more pieces of gravel than females during burrow building. A shared resource defense experiment revealed that individuals within a pair did not differ significantly in their activity in repelling intruders. © 2012 Academic Journals Inc.