Size as a Factor Influencing the Ownership of Copulation Burrows by the Ghost Crab (Ocypode ceratophthalmus)

On Cousin Island, Seychelles, male ghost crabs mostly constructed their copulation burrows around new moon. The burrows were sited below the high tide mark and therefore only lasted until washed away by the incoming tide. Large males were able to defeat small males in contests for burrows and so, to reduce the risk of eviction, small males built their burrows later on the ebbing tide than large males, after the period when fights for burrows were most frequent. There was also evidence that small males built their burrows on stretches of beach presumed to be inferior, because the burrow density was lower.