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Temperature Effects on Parental Care Behaviour in Native and Invasive Palaemon Shrimp Species

Mirko Liuzzo , Chiara Facca, Francesco Cavraro, Luca Altavilla , Stefano Malavasi

Abstract

Environmental changes and the spread of non-native species significantly impact wetland ecosystems, such as coastal lagoons. This study investigates the effects of increased temperature on parental care behaviour, specifically pleopods fanning, in ovigerous females of three Palaemon species: the global invader Palaemon macrodactylus and the Mediterranean native Palaemon elegans and Palaemon adspersus. Under controlled laboratory conditions, we measured pleopods beats per minute across a temperature gradient to assess species-specific responses. Our results reveal significant inter-species differences in fanning behaviour, with P. elegans exhibiting the lowest pleopods beat rate overall. Temperature showed a strong positive correlation with pleopods beats across all species, while dissolved oxygen negatively correlated with pleopods beats in P. adspersus and P. macrodactylus. Interestingly, P. elegans exhibited a unique response compared to its congeneric species, as it was the only species among those studied that did not show a negative correlation between pleopods beat rate and dissolved oxygen concentration. These findings enhance our understanding of the behavioural responses of native and invasive Palaemon species to environmental alterations, providing valuable insights into how species interact with their changing environments.

MF24200  Accepted 13 February 2025

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