Temperature-salinity tolerance of two latitudinally separated populations of the longwrist hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus say (crustacea, decapoda, paguridae)

Abstract

Specimens of the longwrist hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus Say from two latitudinally separated western Atlantic populations in Massachusetts and South Carolina (USA) estuaries were acclimated to either 15°C or 25°C and subjected to various combinations of temperature and salinity. The 48-hour cumulative percent mortalities were used to draw response surfaces. Optimal temperature and salinity values and lethal limits were nearly identical for both populations. Survival at optimal conditions was higher for the Massachusetts population, however, which may be due to less natural stress since ambient thermal conditions are closer to optimal values for this population. The observed differences in survival fall within similar genetically-fixed limits for both populations and appear to be environmentally induced, suggesting that the two populations do not represent different physiological races.