Differential growth and moulting characteristics of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

Newcombe, Curtis L.; Sandoz, Mildred; Rogers‐Talbert, R.

doi:10.1002/jez.1401100107

Cited by 26 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…This same result has been found with C. patula on the crab Portunus pelagicus (L.) (see Shields, 1992). Other studies have suggested a positive correlation between fouling prevalence and host size, especially with older adult females (Churchill, 1919;Newcombe, 1945;Hopkins, 1947;Van Engel, 1958;Williams and Porter, 1964;Perry, 1975;Eldridge and Waltz, 1977). In fact, the fouling prevalence and abundance of different epizoans have been used as an indication of the physiological age of blue crabs (Williams and Porter, 1964;Scrocco and Fabianek, 1969).…”

Section: Results and Discussion Of The Ectosymbiontssupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Some studies have found that adult males tend to be larger in carapace length and width than adult females (Rathbun, 1896(Rathbun, , 1930Churchill, 1919;Williams, 1974Williams, , 1984, whereas others have found the opposite (Tagatz, 1968a;Eldridge and Waltz, 1977). The fact that no significant difference was found in the size of the male and female crabs suggests that the sample may represent crabs of various ages that have previously lived in various geographic locations with different water depths, dissolved oxygen levels, temperatures, salinities, and food availability, all of which affect blue crab growth rates (Newcombe, 1945;Porter, 1956;Cargo, 1958a, b;Van Engel, 1958;Fischler, 1959;Haefner and Shuster, 1964;Tagatz, 1965Tagatz, , 1968a.…”

Section: Results and Discussion Of The Hostsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Barnacle Fouling of the Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus at Beaufort, North Carolina

Key

Volpe

Jeffries

et al. 1997

Journal of Crustacean Biology

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This study examines the barnacle symbionts on 168 blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, taken from both shallow and deep estuarine environments in the area of Beaufort, North Carolina. The purpose of the study was to quantify the prevalence, intensity, abundance, and spatial distribution of the ectosymbiotic barnacle Chelonibia patula on blue crabs. The proportion of blue crabs fouled was 67%. There was no difference in the prevalence of barnacles on crabs from the shallow versus the deep environment. Results indicate female crabs were significantly more fouled than males. This suggests that the prevalence and intensity of barnacles are dominantly controlled by the migratory habits of the host, since female crabs spend more time in deeper waters of higher salinity, where they are more likely to be fouled by barnacle larvae. The spatial distribution of barnacles on the crab carapaces was controlled by the surface topography of the carapace with more barnacles on the lateral regions than medial. The orientation of the carinal to rostral axes of the barnacles on the carapaces of the host crabs was measured, but no preferred orientation was found. The costs and benefits of epibiosis are reviewed and the barnacle/blue crab relationship appears to be more beneficial to the barnacles than to the host blue crabs.

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Section: Results and Discussion Of The Ectosymbiontssupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Results and Discussion Of The Hostsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barnacle Fouling of the Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus at Beaufort, North Carolina

Key

Volpe

Jeffries

et al. 1997

Journal of Crustacean Biology

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“…In females, abdomen shape is a reliable indicator of sexual maturity. Immature females have triangular shaped abdomens while mature females have wider, rounder abdomens (Newcombe et al, 1949;Jivoff et al, 2007). Prepubertal female crabs are in a transitional stage of sexual maturity, meaning that they will become sexually receptive just prior to their next molt; these can also be identified by their abdominal shape and coloration.…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The male blue crab,Callinectes sapidus, uses both chromatic and achromatic cues during mate choice

Baldwin

Johnsen

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYIn the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, claw color varies by sex, sexual maturity and individual. Males rely in part on color cues to select appropriate mates, and these chromatic cues may be perceived through an opponent interaction between two photoreceptors with maximum wavelength sensitivities at 440 and 508nm. The range of color discrimination of this dichromatic visual system may be limited, however, and it is unclear whether male blue crabs are capable of discriminating the natural variations in claw color that may be important in mate choice. By testing malesʼ innate color preferences in binary choice tests between photographs of red-clawed females and six variations of orange-clawed females, we examined both the chromatic (opponent interaction) and achromatic (relative luminance) cues used in male mate choice. Males significantly preferred redclawed females to orange-clawed females, except when the test colors were similar in both opponency and relative luminance. Our results are unusual in that they indicate that male mate choice in the blue crab is not guided solely by achromatic or chromatic mechanisms, suggesting that both color and intensity are used to evaluate female claw color. Supplementary material available online at

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“…Among the decapod crustaceans, numerous recent investigations have attempted to predict various growth phenomena, including onset of anatomical or functional sexual maturity (Crane, 1941;Haley, 1969Haley, , 1973Hartnoll, 1974;Wenneret al, 1974), occurrence of protogyny or protandry (Butler, 1964;Wenner, 1972), neoteny (Efford, 1967), sex ratios (Gray & Powell, 1966;Wenner, 1972), sex prediction (Allen, 1962), rate of growth (Hiatt, 1948;Newcombe et al, 1949;Gilford, 1962;Tagatz, 1968), determination of relative age or stage of individuals in a given population (cf. Hartnoll, 1972Hartnoll, , 1974Mauchline, 1976), and in taxonomy (Chace, 1951;Stephenson, 1967;Griffin, 1970;Williams et al, 1980).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies on the pubertal molt have often used carapace length and width measurements as the sole reference dimensions (Weymouth & McKay, 1936;Newcombe, 1948;Newcombe et al, 1949;Allen, 1962;Gilford, 1962;Hartnoll, 1965b;Herreid, 1967;Griffin, 1970). However, in many brachyurans the relative growth of these two parameters by itself probably provides fewer overt indications of the onset of maturity than do other allometric dimensions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies On Decapod Crustacea From the Indian River Region of Florida. Xxv. Carapacial and Abdominal Allometry in Five Species of Subtropical Parthenopid Crabs (Brachyura, Parthenopidae)

Gore

Scotto

1983

Crustac

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Differential growth and moulting characteristics of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

Cited by 26 publications

References 20 publications

Barnacle Fouling of the Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus at Beaufort, North Carolina

Barnacle Fouling of the Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus at Beaufort, North Carolina

The male blue crab,Callinectes sapidus, uses both chromatic and achromatic cues during mate choice

Studies On Decapod Crustacea From the Indian River Region of Florida. Xxv. Carapacial and Abdominal Allometry in Five Species of Subtropical Parthenopid Crabs (Brachyura, Parthenopidae)

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