Life Sciences Commons^™

Description, Distribution, And Abundance Of The Blue Crab, Callinectes Sapidus (Rathbun), Spawning Stock Of The Lower Chesapeake Bay, Patrick John Geer

OES Theses and Dissertations

The lower Chesapeake Bay spawning stock of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, (Rathbun), is examined for seven years (1986 - 1992) in an attempt to better understand stock behavior. Three methods of post-stratification are used to describe the distribution and movement of the population over time. The three methods, density strata, geographic zones, and depth strata, did well in explaining movements of the population, indicating a trend of increased concentration of blue crabs near the eastern Bay late in the spawning season - October. The data suggest a bimodal period of spawning and a trimodal period of abundance. The …

The Temporal And Spatial Distribution Of Blue Crab Larvae On The Mid-Atlantic Bight Adjacent To The Chesapeake Bay, 1982-1983, Lyle Michael Varnell

OES Theses and Dissertations

Recruitment processes are important information for the management of commercially and recreationally exploited marine species. Recruitment processes of the Chesapeake Bay's most important commercial and recreational species, the blue crab, are unknown, due in part to the lack of knowledge of the processes directly preceeding recruitment.

The present study was undertaken to investigate and explain the movement and developmental patterns of blue crab larvae while offshore. Interannual and intraseasonal variations of these patterns were also examined.

Sampling occurred from May to November during 1982 and 1983. Larvae were collected at three depths (neuston layer (upper 10 cm), one meter and …

Molting In The Mature Female Blue Crab, Callinectes Sapidus, Rathbun, Kirk J. Havens

OES Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the hypothesis that mature female blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, do not have a terminal anecdysis. Induced molting via eyestalk ablation, size frequency distributions and gonad and limb regeneration indices from field collected animals are used as indicators of potential post maturity molts.

Eyestalk ablation of mature females resulted in ecdysis approximately 51 days after ablation, indicating a physiological ability if mature females to complete ecdysis. Analysis of size frequency distributions indicates two distinct shifts from smaller to larger females, one in early spring and a second in early fall. While migration of larger females into …