Detecting regenerating limbs in Hemigrapsus sanguineus based on limb mass

Regeneration of lost appendages is a gradual process in many species, spreading energetic costs of regeneration through time. Energy allocated to regeneration of lost appendages cannot be used for other purposes and therefore commonly elicits energetic trade-offs in biological processes. We used limb loss in the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus to compare the strength of energetic trade-offs resulting from historic limb losses that have been partially regenerated versus current injuries that have not yet been repaired. Consistent with previous studies, we show that limb loss and regeneration results in trade-offs that reduce reproduction, energy storage, and growth. As may be expected, we show that trade-offs in these metrics from historic limb losses far outweigh trade-offs from current limb losses, and correlate directly with the degree of historic limb loss that has been regenerated. As regenerating limbs get closer to their normal size, these historical injuries get harder to detect, despite the continued allocation of additional resources to limb development. Our results demonstrate the importance of a method for identifying historic appendage losses and of quantifying the amount of regeneration that has already occurred, as opposed to assessing only current injury, to accurately assess the strength of energetic trade-offs in animals recovering from non-lethal injury.The .csv file can be imported and analyzed in R.Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001Award Number: 2052246Methods used are described in full in the publication