Intertidal migration by the shore crab Carcinus maenas

Abstract

Intertidal migration by the shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.) was studied on a seasonal and tidal basis from May to December 1992 on Ynys Faelog, Menai Strait, North Wales, UK. Work was carn e d out using a specially designed, remotely operated, unbaited directional trap, in conjunction with other conventional methods. Highly oriented migration was detected, with significantly more crabs taken in traps facing up-and downshore tidal flow than when facing against or 90" to flow. Facing-flow crab catches from falling tides were greater than those from rising tides. No significant differences were found in the numbers of daytime and nighttime migrants. Green (early intermoult) crabs were more attracted to bait than were red (late intermoult) crabs, food searching activity being extensive dunng times of flood bde, and rare dunng ebb hdes. Most crabs caught in the unbaited trap were green male early intermoults, and they were retneved more abundantly from the top half of the shore; female crabs were virtually absent from the lower shore. Upper-shore migrants were smaller than lower-shore migrants, which contained a higher proportion of late intermoult red crabs Crabs remaining on the shore at low tide were smaller than high-tide migrants, nearly all were green and they were located most abundantly around the midshore Numbers of both resident and migrant crabs declined between summer and winter.

Diel movements of juvenile plaice Pleuronectes platessa in relation to predators, competitors, food availability and abiotic factors on a microtidal nursery ground

“…Gadoids move into shallow water at night in many areas (Pihl 1982, Keats 1990, as do young plaice (Bregneballe 1961. Carcinus maenas, although it can be active at all times of day (Hunter & Naylor 1993), is mainly nocturnal in most areas , Aagaard et al 1995. The activity patterns of Crangon crangon seem to vary widely between locations and seasonally.…”

“…The behaviour patterns of individual dominant species on plaice nursery grounds have been studied in some deiail (Edwards i958, Healey 1971, Gibson 1973, 1980, Kuipers 1973, Janssen & Kuipers 1980, Dare & Edwards 1981, Hunter & Naylor 1993, Aagaard et al 1995 but only rarely have they been considered together ( d~! ?…”

Elucidating cellular and behavioural effects of contaminant impact (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) in both laboratory-exposed and field-collected shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (Crustacea: Decapoda)

“…The shore crab Carcinus maenas, is a common crab species found along European shores and estuaries (Hunter & Naylor 1993;Hayward & Ryland 1995) The shore crab Carcinus maenas, is a common crab species found along European shores and estuaries (Hunter and Naylor,70 1993; Hayward and Ryland, 1995) and may be exposed to PAHs both by waterborne (through the gills) and trophic (feeding) exposure as it is a durophagous predator (Crothers 1968 effects . In particular, behavioural indicators may provide a particularly sensitive insight into various levels of molecular, physiological, and ecological aspects of toxicology by providing ecological relevance to routine physiological measures of toxicity (McGaw et al, 1999;Scott & Sloman 2004).…”

Quantifying Tidal Movements of the Shore Crab Carcinus maenas on to Complex Epibenthic Bivalve Habitats

“…These tidal migrations are also typical for the common shore crab (Carcinus maenas L., 1758) (e.g., Hunter and Naylor 1993;Silva et al 2014), one of the most conspicuous and ecologically important benthic predators in many intertidal marine and estuarine environments around the world. It is native to coasts of Europe and North Africa and has successfully invaded many coastal areas worldwide (Carlton and Cohen 2003).…”

“…It is native to coasts of Europe and North Africa and has successfully invaded many coastal areas worldwide (Carlton and Cohen 2003). While juvenile crabs remain in the high intertidal zone, with particularly high densities reported from complex biogenic structures like bivalve beds and seagrass meadows (Klein Breteler 1976a;Reise 1985;Thiel and Dernedde 1994;Moksnes 2002), adults tend to perform vertical tidal migrations, foraging in the intertidal during high tide and withdrawing to the subtidal zone during low tide (Crothers 1968;Hunter and Naylor 1993;Warman et al 1993). Shore crabs are opportunistic feeders, with a preference for molluscan prey (Ropes 1968;Elner 1981;Raffaelli et al 1989), and are capable of having drastic impacts on the stocks of commercial bivalve species (Ropes 1968;Walton et al 2002;Murray et al 2007).…”