PRIMARY RESEARCH PAPER Food selection by a mangrove crab: temporal changes in fasted animals Ronaldo A. Christofoletti • Gustavo Y. Hattori • Marcelo A. A. Pinheiro Received: 20 August 2011 / Revised: 23 August 2012 / Accepted: 31 August 2012 / Published online: 14 September 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 Abstract The feeding choices of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus for various mangrove plant leaves (Avicennia schaueriana, Laguncularia racemosa, and Rhizophora mangle) at different ages (mature, senes- cent pre-abscission, and decomposing leaves) were examined. In a controlled experiment set in a mangrove area, we evaluated crab selection for different plant leaves by analyzing foraging rate (number of leaves with predation marks) and leaf consumption. Crabs were housed individually in plastic containers and after a 3-day fast supplied with leaf fragments every 24 h for 72 h. Uneaten leaves were removed before each new food offering. No food selection was observed in the first day, but after this period, senescent leaves, which have a high polyphenol content, were rejected. On the third day, an interactive effect between plant species and leaf age was shown to affect leaf selection, with mature leaves of A. schaue- riana and L. racemosa being more selected than the other treatments. This observation was consistent across crab sexes and ages. Our results show that food selection by this mangrove crab changes through time in fasted animals, suggesting that this variable must be controlled in food preference studies. Keywords Foraging Á Herbivory Á Mangrove Á Ucides Á Brazil Á Experimental design Introduction Studies on feeding preference elucidate the role that consumers play in food chains (Post et al., 2000; Lo ´pez et al., 2010; Prado & Heck, 2011). Although recent discussions center on experimental designs and types of analyses that improve the assessment of preference (Peterson & Renaud, 1989; Underwood et al., 2004; Underwood & Clarke, 2005, 2006; Manly, 2006; Taplin, 2007), these methods generally neglect Handling editor: Stuart Jenkins R. A. Christofoletti (&) Universidade Federal de Sa ˜o Paulo, Instituto do Mar, Campus Baixada Santista (IMar/UNIFESP); Av. Alm. Saldanha da Gama, 89-Ponta da Praia, Santos, SP 11030-400, Brazil e-mail: christofoletti@unifesp.br R. A. Christofoletti Á G. Y. Hattori Á M. A. A. Pinheiro UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, FCAV, Campus de Jaboticabal, Programa de Po ´s-Graduac ¸a ˜o em Zootecnia (A ´ rea de Produc ¸a ˜o Animal), Jaboticabal, SP 14884-900, Brazil G. Y. Hattori Instituto de Cie ˆncias Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Rua Nossa Senhora do Rosa ´rio, 3863, Sa ˜o Jorge, Itacoatiara, AM 69103-128, Brazil M. A. A. Pinheiro Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista (CLP), Grupo de Pesquisa em Biologia de Crusta ´ceos (CRUSTA), UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, Prac ¸a Infante Dom Henrique, s/n, Parque Bitaru, Sa ˜o Vicente, SP 11330-900, Brazil 123 Hydrobiologia (2013) 702:63–72 DOI 10.1007/s10750-012-1307-6