Neotrypaea californiensis

Geographic Range

Neotrypaea californiensis can be found at intertidal locations within the regions of the North American West Coast ranging from Mutiny Bay, Alaska to Tijuana River, San Diego County, California and El Estuario de Punto Banda, Baja California Norte, Mexico.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native
• pacific ocean pacific ocean
  • native native

Habitat

Neotrypaea californiensis live as infauna in intertidal areas between the middle to low intertidal zones, on sandy beaches or tidal flats in estuaries. Ghost shrimp habitat is distinguished by numerous holes that are the entrances and exits of their burrows. Ghost shrimp are constantly excavating complex tunnels under the sand.

Although the majority of time is spent building tunnels, ghost shrimp do come to the surface at times, where predation can occur.

• Habitat Regions
• saltwater or marine saltwater or marine

• Aquatic Biomes
• benthic benthic
• coastal coastal

• Wetlands
• marsh marsh

• Other Habitat Features
• estuarine estuarine
• intertidal or littoral intertidal or littoral

Physical Description

Body coloration ranges between shades of orange, pink, and red. Some individuals may also exhibit a very pale coloration, almost white. The main body parts of Neotrypaea californiensis follow a generalized decapod body plan: two differently-shaped claws (with one major cheliped, often several times larger than the opposite claw); five pairs of legs, three paddle-shaped swimming legs (pleopods), a fan-like tail (uropod), telson, flattened eyestalks, and two pairs of antennae. The exoskeleton is fringed with numerous fine hairs.

Females bearing eggs carry them on their abdomen. The egg mass may vary in color between individuals, from light yellow to deep scarlet. The major cheliped is sexually dimorphic, being larger on males. The major cheliped can account for up to a quarter of a ghost shrimp's weight.

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic ectothermic
• heterothermic heterothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger
• sexes shaped differently

Development

Neotrypaea californiensis matures between 18 and 24 months. Mature individuals can be found closest to the ocean and they grow much faster compared to individuals located nearer to shore. Larger sized females with larger eggs can be found within intertidal areas.

Females carry their fertile eggs on their abdomen and the eggs are released in June or July. The newly released ghost shrimp larvae (zoea) drift for six to eight weeks in the water column as zooplankton, passing through five zoeal stages before transforming into a megalops. There zoeal stages take place over 6 to 8 weeks. They will return to estuarine habitats as megalopae on flood tides during August.

Reproduction

Using olfactory receptors on their antennules called aesthetascs, a male ghost shrimp detects water soluble substances released by premolt females. Once a female is found, the male will follow and protect her from predators and other suitors with his major cheliped, until she molts. This process is known as temporary mate guarding. After the female molts, the male mates with her and then leaves her to find another premolt female.

• Mating System
• polygynandrous (promiscuous) polygynandrous (promiscuous)

Though the mating behavior of the ghost shrimp is largely unknown, it is agreed that the males use the major cheliped to fight other males for reproductive access to females.

The female will carry her brood of eggs for approximately 3 to 5 months. Hatching occurs in June or July. The newly released ghost shrimp larvae (zoea) drift for six to eight weeks in the water column as zooplankton, passing through five zoeal stages before transforming into a megalops. They will return to estuarine habitats as megalopae on flood tides during August.

• Key Reproductive Features
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• fertilization fertilization
  • internal internal
• oviparous oviparous

Ghost shrimp reproduce seasonally. The female will carry her brood of eggs for approximately 3 to 5 months until they hatch, usually in June or July.

• Parental Investment
• precocial precocial
• female parental care female parental care
• pre-hatching/birth
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

Ghost shrimp in the wild have an average lifespan of 3-5 years. The primary factor affecting lifespan is the level of available nutrients. Nutrient availability is directly related to the distance of the colony to an estuary. Longer-lived shrimp are found closer the mouth of an estuary.

Behavior

Water temperature and substrate characteristics can also influence shrimp activities, as colder temperatures reduce shrimp mobility and sandy sediments reduce its ability to burrow.

Ghost shrimp in general are constantly burrowing to obtain food.

• Key Behaviors
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary

Home Range

Ghost shrimp conduct their daily activities within a relatively small circumscribed area. Under experimental conditions, ghost shrimp spent over 25% of the time within 2 cm of the burrow entrance; furthermore, the shrimp were also observed to move from one burrow to another.

Ghost shrimp territory is limited to a few cm within the vicinity of their own burrow, which they defend from rivals. Population size can be very dense with burrows directly adjacent to those of conspecifics. In Oregon, densities have been estimated at 700-1,400 per square meter in Yaquina bay; 420-770 per square meter in Sand Lake Estuary, and less than 300 per square meter along the coast.

Communication and Perception

Tactile: This species uses its antennae, chelipeds, and sensory hairs (called cuticular mechanoreceptors, covering most of the body) to sense physical objects in the environment.

Vision: Eyestalks are acute with divergent tips, and bear a pigmented cornea in the middle of the eyestalk.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• chemical chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Ghost shrimp ingest plankton and detritus deposits scraped from the sediments during burrowing. Plankton is also obtained as water and detrital materials pass over the body and are collected on the hairs of their second and third walking legs.

To find enough food, ghost shrimp tunnel almost constantly, reworking the sediment to a depth of as much as 76 cm.

• Primary Diet
• planktivore planktivore
• detritivore detritivore

• Animal Foods
• aquatic or marine worms
• zooplankton zooplankton

• Plant Foods
• phytoplankton phytoplankton

• Other Foods
• detritus detritus

• Foraging Behavior
• filter-feeding filter-feeding

Predation

Although ghost shrimp typically inhabit deep burrows, they are susceptible to predation because they sometimes venture outside of their burrow entrances. Fishes and invertebrates are significant predators when the tide is high, whereas shorebirds and humans prey on ghost shrimp when the tide is low. Shorebirds that feed on ghost shrimp include the long-billed curlew Numenius americanus and the willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus . Some fish predators include the Pacific staghorn sculpin, Leptocottus armatus .

Ecosystem Roles

The vigorous burrowing activities of ghost shrimp have such dramatic effects on their habitats of soft sediment that these animals are often considered ecosystem engineers. By aerating the surface sediment through burrowing, the ghost shrimp provide an environment attractive to other species including the blind goby, three species of pea crabs, two species of clams, a copepod, a shrimp, polynoid worms, and isopods, all of which live within the burrows.

• Ecosystem Impact
• creates habitat
• soil aeration soil aeration

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Neotrypaea californiensis is used as live bait by fishermen. Fishermen commonly call them one-armed bandits because of their one long cheliped.

• Positive Impacts
• food food

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

No known negative economic importance for humans.

Conservation Status

Other Comments

Neotrypaea californiensis is tolerant of low oxygen conditions, and laboratory results indicate this species can survive anoxic conditions for as long as 3 days.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Stephanie Astle (author), San Diego Mesa College, Victoria Hosford (author), San Diego Mesa College, Dennis Ramirez (author), San Diego Mesa College, Paul Detwiler (editor), San Diego Mesa College, Renee Mulcrone (editor), Special Projects, Alexa Unruh (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.

References

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