Abstract
Artificial benthic collectors have been widely used for the assessment of settlement rates of decapod crustaceans. However, to date no consistent works have addressed spatial patterns of settlement in different estuarine habitats, and no specific studies targeted the interaction of artificial surfaces with the surrounding natural substrate. It may be expected that the artificial surface may produce a different thigmotactic response when compared to the natural substrate, which may limit the use of this technique for assessment of natural settlement rates. In this study the settlement rates of megalopae of the estuarine crab Carcinus maenas were addressed, specifically deploying artificial benthic collectors in different habitats both intertidal and subtidal in the lower Mira estuary. A number of experiments were performed concerning stratification and temporal fluctuations of settlement. Further, the interaction of collector surface with the surrounding substrate was investigated, by comparing settlement rates in natural and artificial substrates in different habitats. Results have shown significant differences in settlement between different estuarine habitats, both in spatially replicated experiments and in a high-resolution temporal experiment. However, comparison between settlement rates in artificial and natural substrates has shown that there is a strong interference between collectors and surrounding substrate, limiting interpretation of results concerning settlement rates in artificial substrate alone.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Berrill, M., 1982. The life cycle of the green crab Carcinus maenas at the northern end of its range. Journal of Crustacean Biology 2: 31–39.
Blanton, J. O. & F. A. Andrade, 2001. Distortion of tidal currents and the lateral transfer of salt in a shallow coastal plain estuary. Estuaries 24: 467–480.
Boström, C. & E. Bonsdorff, 1997. Community structure and spatial variation of benthic invertebrates associated with Zostera marina (L.) beds in the northern Baltic Sea. Journal of Sea Research 37: 153–166.
Boylan, J. M. & E. L. Wenner, 1993. Settlement of brachyuran megalopae in a South Carolina, USA, estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series 97: 237–246.
Eggleston, D. B. & D. A. Armstrong, 1995. Pre-and post-settlement determinants of estuarine dungeness crab recruitment. Ecological Monographs 65: 193–216.
Flores, A. A. V., J. Cruz & J. Paula, 2002. Temporal and spatial patterns of settlement of brachyuran crab megalopae at a rocky coast in central Portugal. Marine Ecology Progress Series 229: 207–220.
Forward Jr, R. B., J. Swanson, R. A. Tankersely & J. M. Welch, 1997. Endogenous swimming rhythms of blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, megalopae: effects of offshore and estuarine cues. Marine Biology 127: 621–628.
Gebauer, P., I. Walter & K. Anger, 1998. Effects of substratum and conspecific adults on the metamorphosis of Chasmagnathus granulate (Dana) (Decapoda: Grapsidae) megalopae. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 223:185–198.
Goodrich, D. M., J. van Montfrans & R. J. Orth, 1989. Blue crab megalopal influx to Chesapeake Bay: evidence for a wind-driven mechanism. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 29: 247–260.
Hasek, B. E. & N. N. Rabalais, 2001. Settlement patterns of brachyuran megalopae in a Louisiana estuary. Estuaries 24:796–807.
Hedvall, O., P.-O. Moksnes & L. Pihl, 1998. Active habitat selection by megalopae and juvenile shore crabs Carcinus maenas: A laboratory study in annular flume. Hydrobiologia 376: 89–100.
Hunt, H. L. & R. E. Scheibling, 1997. Role of early post-settlement mortality in recruitment of benthic marine invertebrates. Marine Ecology Progress Series 155: 269–301.
Ingle, R., 1992. Larval Stages of Northeastern Atlantic Crabs — An Illustrated Key. Chapman and Hall, London.
Jensen, G. C., 1991. Competency, settling behaviour and postsettlement aggregation by pocelain crab megalopae (Anomura: Porcellanidae). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 153: 49–61.
Moksnes, P.-O. & H. Wennhage, 2001. Methods for estimating decapod larval supply and settlement: Importance of larval behavior and development stage. Marine Ecology Progress Series 209: 257–273.
Moksnes, P.-O., L. Pihl & J. van Montfrans, 1998. Predation on postlarvae and juveniles of the shore crab Carcinus maenas: importance of shelter, size and cannibalism. Marine Ecology Progress Series 166: 211–225.
O’Connor, N. J., 1991. Flexibility in timing of the metamorphic molt by fiddler crab megalopae Uca pugilator. Marine Ecology Progress Series 68: 243–247.
O’Connor, N. J., 1993. Settlement and recruitment of the fiddler crabs Uca pugnax and U. pugilator in a North Carolina, USA, salt marsh. Marine Ecology Progress Series 93: 227–234.
Olmi, E. J., III, J. van Montfrans, R. N. Lipcius, R. J. Orth & P. W. Sadler, 1990. Variation in planktonic availability and settlement of blue crab megalopae in the York River; Virginia. Bulletin of Marine Science 46: 230–243.
Paula, J., 1998. Larval retention and dynamics of the prawns Palaemon longirostris H. Milne Edwards and Crangon crangon Linnaeus (Decapoda, Caridea) in the Mira estuary, Portugal. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development 33:221–228.
Paula, J., T. Dray & H. Queiroga, 2001. Interaction of offshore and inshore processes controlling settlement of brachyuran megalopae in Saco mangrove creek, Inhaca Island (South Mozambique). Marine Ecology Progress Series 215: 251–260.
Paula, J., M. Dornelas & A. A. V. Flores, 2003. Stratified settlement and moulting competency of brachyuran megalopae in Ponta Rasa mangrove swamp, Inhaca Island (Mozambique). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56: 325–337.
Phillips, B. F., 1972. A semi-quantitative collector of the puerulus larvae of the western rock lobster Panulirus longipes cygnus George (Decapoda, Palinuridea). Crustaceana 22:147–154.
Phillips, B. F. & J. D. Booth, 1994. Design, use, and effectiveness of collectors for catching the puerulus stage of spiny lobsters. Reviews in Fisheries Science 2: 255–289.
Queiroga, H., 1996. Distribution and drift of the crab Carcinus maenas (L.) (Decapoda, Portunidae) larvae over the continental shelf off northern Portugal in April 1991. Journal of Plankton Research 18: 1981–2000.
Queiroga, H., 1998. Vertical migration and selective tidal stream transport in the megalopas of the crab Carcinus maenas. Hydrobiologia 375/376: 137–149.
Queiroga, H., J. D. Costlow & M. H. Moreira Jr, 1994. Larval abundance patterns of Carcinus maenas (Decapoda, Brachyura) in Canal de Mira (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal). Marine Ecology Progress Series 113: 63–72.
Rice, A. L. & R. W. Ingle, 1975. The larval development of Carcinus maenas (L.) and C. mediterraneus Czerniavsky (Crustacea, Brachyura, Portunidae) reared in the laboratory. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 28: 101–119.
Rodríguez, S. R., F. P. Ojeda & N. C. Inestrosa, 1993. Settlement of benthic marine invertebrates. Marine Ecology Progress Series 97: 193–207.
Shanks, A. L., 1995. Mechanisms of cross-shelf dispersal of larval invertebrates and fish. In McEdward, L. (ed.) Ecology of Marine Larvae. CRC Press, Boca Raton: 323–367.
Shanks, A. L., 1998. Abundance of post-larval Callinectes sapidus, Penaeus spp., Uca spp., and Libinia spp. collected at an outer coastal site and their cross-shelf transport. Marine Ecology Progress Series 168: 57–69.
Sokal, R. R. & K. J. Rohlf, 1995. Biometry. The Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research (3rd ed.). W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.
Stevens, B. G. & J. Kittaka, 1998. Postlarval settling behavior, substrate preference and time to metamorphosis for red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 167: 197–206.
Strasser, K. M. & D. L. Felder, 1999. Sand as a stimulus for settlement in the ghost shrimp Callichirus major (Say) and C. islagrande (Schmitt) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Thalassinidea). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 239:211–222.
Sulkin, S. D. & W. F. van Heukelem, 1986. Variability in the length of the megalopal stage and its consequences to dispersal and recruitment in the portunid crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun. Bulletin of Marine Science 39: 269–278.
van Montfrans, J., C. A. Peery & R. J. Orth, 1990. Daily, monthly and annual settlement patterns by Callinectes sapidus and Neopanope sayi megalopae on artificial collectors deployed in the York River, Virginia: 1985–1988. Bulletin of Marine Science 46: 214–229.
van Montfrans, J., C. E. Epifanio, D. M. Knott, R. N. Lipcius, D. J. Mense, K. S. Metcalf, III E. J. Olmi, R. J. Orth, M. H. Posey, E. L. Wenner & T. L. West, 1995. Settlement of blue crab megalopae in western Atlantic estuaries. Bulletin of Marine Science 57: 834–854.
Welch, J. M., D. Rittschof, T. M. Bullock & R. B. Forward Jr, 1997. Effects of chemical cues on settlement behaviour of blue crab Callinectes sapidus postlarvae. Marine Ecology Progress Series 154: 143–153.
Wolcott, D. L. & M. C. DeVries, 1994. Offshore megalopae of Callinectes sapidus: depth of collection, molt stage and response to estuarine cues. Marine Ecology Progress Series 109: 157–163.
Wrona, A. B., R. G. Wiegeri & T. D. Bishop, 1995. Initial report of settlement patterns of brachyuran megalopae at Sapelo Island, Georgia, U.S.A. Bulletin of Marine Science 57: 807–820.
Zar, J. H., 1996. Biostatistical Analysis (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall International Editors, New Jersey.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Paula, J., Silva, I.C., Francisco, S.M., Flores, A.A.V. (2006). The use of artificial benthic collectors for assessment of spatial patterns of settlement of megalopae of Carcinus maenas (L.) (Brachyura: Portunidae) in the lower Mira Estuary, Portugal. In: Thessalou-Legaki, M. (eds) Issues of Decapod Crustacean Biology. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 184. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4756-8_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4756-8_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4599-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4756-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)