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Microhabitat use of early stage mud crabs, Scylla serrata (Forskal, 1775), in Eastern Australia.

Alberts-Hubatsch, Hilke; Lee, Shing Yip; Diele, Karen; Wolff, Matthias; Nordhaus, Inga

Authors

Hilke Alberts-Hubatsch

Shing Yip Lee

Matthias Wolff

Inga Nordhaus



Abstract

The mud crab Scylla serrata (Forskål, 1775) (Portunidae) is a commercial species in the Indo-West-Pacific. Despite its high fishery value, the microhabitat of its early juvenile stages remains unknown. We studied microhabitat use by the ‘early benthic stage’ (EBS, between 3 and 30 mm carapace width, CW) at two sites in eastern Australia by two types of artificial benthic collectors and baited traps. 92% of EBS mud crabs were captured in muddy areas, compared to 8% on sandy habitats. The majority of the EBS mud crabs (87%) was found in intertidal areas within the mangrove fringe, only few individuals (13%) were found on unvegetated mud flats seawards to the mangroves. EBS from the mudflat (including first instars of 3-4 mm CW) were significantly smaller (p

Citation

Alberts-Hubatsch, H., Lee, S. Y., Diele, K., Wolff, M., & Nordhaus, I. (2014). Microhabitat use of early stage mud crabs, Scylla serrata (Forskal, 1775), in Eastern Australia. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 34(5), 604-610. https://doi.org/10.1163/1937240X-00002256

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 20, 2014
Online Publication Date Sep 1, 2014
Publication Date Sep 1, 2014
Deposit Date Sep 5, 2014
Journal Journal of Crustacean Biology
Print ISSN 0278-0372
Electronic ISSN 1937-240X
Publisher Brill Academic Publishers
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 34
Issue 5
Pages 604-610
DOI https://doi.org/10.1163/1937240X-00002256
Keywords recruitment; early benthic stage (EBS); nursery; post-settlement movement; settlement habitat
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/7135
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1937240X-00002256