Maintenance and reproductive behaviour in the freshwatre prawn Macrobrachium australiense Holthuis (Crustacea : Decapoda : Palaemonidae)

Abstract

Seven categories of maintenance behaviour have been recognized and described for M. australiense. These are 'normal stance', 'body cleaning', 'locomotion', 'food search and feeding', 'defaecation'. 'alarm reaction', and 'moulting'. These behaviour patterns are compared with similar patterns described previously for other caridean prawns. Behaviour patterns leading to successful mating in M. australiense include 'courtship and nest building', 'copulation', and 'egg-laying'. Ripe females seek out dominant males, which then build a nest. The male protects the female in the nest during pro-ecdysis and the pair copulate after the female moults. Eggs are usually laid within 12 h of copulation.