Celotheres villosulus x Pinctada maxima symbiotic relationship-PHILIPPINES

Description

Excel file of shell host (P. maxima) morphometrics and symbiont pea crab (Celotheres villosulus) morphometrics and reproductive parameters.

Steps to reproduce

In the laboratory, morphometric measurements of the host, P. maxima, were obtained using a flexible ruler (to the nearest 0.1 mm). The shell height (SH) was measured from the hinge to the ventral edge, perpendicular to the hinge line of the pearl oyster. The shell length (SL) was recorded as the maximum distance from the anterior to the posterior edge of the valve, parallel to the hinge line. The shell width was measured across both closed valves or as the distance between the left and right valves. All these morphological measurements were multiplied to estimate the shell volume (SV), which represents the available space within the host shell for the pea crab (Salas-Moya et al., 2014). Morphometrics data on C. villosulus were gathered, including the carapace length (CL: distance between the distal part of the eye socket and the posterior edge of the carapace) and carapace width (CW: distance between the lateral edges of the carapace) of the pea crabs. Prior to weighing, each pea crab was gently blotted with absorbent tissue to remove excess surface moisture. Wet weights were measured to the nearest 0.01 g. For all ovigerous females (n=16), the egg brood was carefully removed and weighed to determine their total wet mass. Individual eggs were then counted under the microscope to assess fecundity. To calculate the egg volume (EV), the major diameter (a) and perpendicular diameter (b) of 15 ova per female were measured using the ImageView software (YSC Technologies). These measurements were applied to the formula proposed by Corey and Reid (1991), EV = (b/2)2 x π x a, and the resulting average EV was multiplied by the total egg count of each female crab to estimate the total brood mass volume (Salas-Moya et al., 2014).

Institutions

• University of the Philippines Visayas

  Western Visayas, Miagao

Categories

Funders

• Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development

  Department of Science and Technology

  Los Baños

Licence