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A Comparison Of Recruitment Strategies Among Brachyuran Crustacean Megalopae Of The York River, Lower Chesapeake Bay And Adjacent Shelf Waters, David Franklin Johnson

OES Theses and Dissertations

Twenty-one stations forming a transect of the Pamunkey River, York River, lower Chesapeake Bay and adjacent coastal waters were sampled from July through September 1980. The megalopa stages of 11 brachyuran species were sampled. Vertical and horizontal distributions are described for each species in relation to salinity and water column stratification. The megalopae are assigned to three apparent recruitment strategies: retained estuarine, expelled estuarine and retained coastal megalopae. the megalopa stages of estuarine adults, such as Hexapanopeus angustifrons, Neopanope sayi, Panopeus herbstii and Pinnotheres ostreum, are retained in estuarine epibenthic waters, while Rhithropanopeus harrisii are retained in slightly shallower …