Fiddler Crab Hypothesis

a) Fiddler crabs are semi-terrestrial crabs that are also known as crustaceans, and they are a part of the genus Uca. The female fiddler crabs have the same claw size, while a male has one claw that is noticeably larger than the other one. These crabs get their name due to the male’s smaller claw grabbing food and putting it in his mouth because it looks someone is playing a fiddle with a bow. They also have square-shaped bodies and are known to live on marshes, beaches, and mud flat lands, which is found in the Chesapeake Bay. Fiddler crabs are most likely to compete for their own burrow, which is a safe spot for dangerous tides and predators. They also compete for mates and food, which can be limited since it is in high demand.

b) The hypothesis the researcher was testing was if the fiddler crab distribution was determined by osmoregulatory physiology and the competition from other species. She tested this hypothesis by having two environments. The

imaginarensis, which was the smaller fiddler crab, was attacked and eaten within 48 hours by the U. imadeitupensis. The results suggest that the reason the U. imaginarensis survived in a brackish water environment was because it would have been less likely they would be killed by the U. imadeitupensis. Since the U. imadeitupensis was not able to survive in the marine water environment, the U. imaginarensis would rather live in that area so they would not have to worry about much competition and the U. imadeitupensis would not pose a threat.

b) The yellow tang is a real organism that originated from the salt waters of Hawaii, which is where 70% of aquariums capture the yellow tang from. Since the yellow tang is a popular aquarium fish, the population might be skewed due to them not having an accurate representation of the population size because of a large amount of them getting