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

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