Porcellanid Crab Cheliped Autotomy and Mating Success Experiment Data

Research data from Katsuyuki Hamasaki investigates the effects of cheliped (claw) loss on male reproductive success in the porcellanid crab Petrolisthes japonicus. The dataset, last updated in April 2026, documents mating experiments under three autotomy conditions: both chelipeds intact, one autotomized, and both autotomized. It includes observations on mating behavior and female reproductive traits such as spawning, egg number, egg size, and fertilization rate.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between male autotomy condition (control, OCA, BCA) and observed mating success in competitive trials.
• Model the effect of cheliped loss on specific female reproductive outcomes like egg number and fertilization rate.
• Compare copulation frequency data from non-competitive pairings (experiment 2) across the three defined male treatment groups.
• Investigate the interaction between competitive context and the number of chelipeds lost on overall male reproductive success.

Strengths

• Data is derived from controlled laboratory experiments with three clearly defined treatment groups (control, OCA, BCA).
• Measures multiple female reproductive traits: spawning, egg number, egg size, and fertilization rate.
• License is CC-BY-4.0, permitting broad reuse with attribution.

Limitations

• Dataset is very small at 636.3 KB, indicating limited scope and likely a small sample size of crab individuals.
• Data format is DOCX, which is not structured for direct computational analysis and requires manual extraction.
• No column names or sample data are provided, obscuring the exact structure and variables available.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Katsuyuki Hamasaki.

Collection Method

Controlled laboratory mating experiments with Petrolisthes japonicus crabs, observing behavior and measuring reproductive traits.

Freshness

Data was last updated on 2026-04-07.

Geography

Study likely focuses on the species Petrolisthes japonicus, native to intertidal cobble and boulder shores in East Asia (e.g., Japan).