'Stealing' of the symbiotic anemone, Calliactis parasitica, in intraspecific and interspecific encounters of three species of Mediterranean pagurids

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Abstract
The pagurids Dardanus arrosor, Paguristes oculatus and Pagurus alatus occur together near Banyuls-sur-Mer in the Western Mediterranean with the anemone C. parasitica on their shells. In intraspecific encounters, the transfer of Calliactis from one individual to another was an infrequent event, occurring in only 6% of tests between 2 D. arrosor and even less often in tests on P. oculatus and P. alatus. In interspecific encounters, D. arrosor stole Calliactis from P. oculatus in every test and from P. alatus in over 80% of tests. Neither species stole Calliactis from D. arrosor. D. arrosor stole Calliactis from P. oculatus without interacting with the pagurid but with P. alatus in a confined space it extracted the pagurid from its shell and then either transferred the anemone or took over the shell. In a less confined space P. alatus, being more agile and able to run faster, usually escaped capture by D. arrosor. The implications of the apparent dominance of D. arrosor over P. oculatus and P. alatus are discussed in relation to the distribution and the interactions of the species in their benthic habitat.

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