Today Vincent Chen (National Chiayi University) and I collected at Haomeili for the second time this year. As expected, we caught more of the clupeiforms Thryssa setirostris and Thryssa dussumieri. We also captured a small carangid, Alepes djedaba (Family: Carangidae) and a mysterious 1.5 cm long perciform fish (Order: Perciformes) that may be a small Lobotes surinamensis. Surprisingly, so far this year we have not captured any Thryssa hamiltonii, a common anchovy that we frequently collected at this same location last year. We also tried to sample on a nearby muddy beach bordering a small bay where we successfully collected many fish last year. However, today the tides left so much of the beach exposed that the mud at the waters edge was too deep to negotiate!
Collecting event details:
Lat/long: 23.363514 N, 120.127306 E
Time: 15:30-18:00
Date: 29/May/2014
Video: Fieldwork 2014 Episode Three: Haomeili (好美里) Soldier Crabs
Video description: Soldier crabs (Mictyris brevidactylus: Family Mictyridae) filmed on a muddy beach near Haomeili (好美里) Taiwan, 2014.
Video Script: Soldier crabs were abundant at our Haomeili field site. These crabs feed on organic matter in mud and sand on the beach. Large soldier crabs will sometimes feed on the surface but smaller individuals typically dig tunnels within which they can eat without risking predation [1]. Interestingly, this crab species has been the subject of some biotechnology research. Chitin, which is a large molecule, or polymer, made from a chain of many acetylglucosamine molecules, comprises a significant component of the crabs’ exoskeleton. Methods have been developed to remove a thin layer of chitin from the dorsal surface of these crabs and use it in the construction of sensors that can detect glucose in a solution [2].
Video Citations:
[1] Takeda & Murai. (2004): Microhabitat use by the soldier crab Mictyris Brevidactylus (Brachyura: Mictyridae): Interchangeability of surface and subsurface feeding through burrow structure alteration
[2] Hsieh et al. (2003): Use of chitosan membrane from the carapace of the soldier crab Mictyris brevidactylus for biosensor construction
Collecting event details:
Lat/long: 23.363514 N, 120.127306 E
Time: 15:30-18:00
Date: 29/May/2014
Video: Fieldwork 2014 Episode Three: Haomeili (好美里) Soldier Crabs
Video description: Soldier crabs (Mictyris brevidactylus: Family Mictyridae) filmed on a muddy beach near Haomeili (好美里) Taiwan, 2014.
Video Script: Soldier crabs were abundant at our Haomeili field site. These crabs feed on organic matter in mud and sand on the beach. Large soldier crabs will sometimes feed on the surface but smaller individuals typically dig tunnels within which they can eat without risking predation [1]. Interestingly, this crab species has been the subject of some biotechnology research. Chitin, which is a large molecule, or polymer, made from a chain of many acetylglucosamine molecules, comprises a significant component of the crabs’ exoskeleton. Methods have been developed to remove a thin layer of chitin from the dorsal surface of these crabs and use it in the construction of sensors that can detect glucose in a solution [2].
Video Citations:
[1] Takeda & Murai. (2004): Microhabitat use by the soldier crab Mictyris Brevidactylus (Brachyura: Mictyridae): Interchangeability of surface and subsurface feeding through burrow structure alteration
[2] Hsieh et al. (2003): Use of chitosan membrane from the carapace of the soldier crab Mictyris brevidactylus for biosensor construction