Early life stages of the invasive Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus in the Western Mediterranean Sea
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Publication date
2023-12-11ISSN
0272-7714
Abstract
The early life cycle of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus includes seven zoeal stages that develop in coastal waters, and a later megalopal stage that colonizes estuaries. Although these stages have been largely studied in native ecosystems, very little is known about larval patterns in smaller-scale, invaded, estuarine environments such as those available in the Mediterranean Sea. The general aim of this study is to assess the distribution and abundance of early life stages of C. sapidus in the communication channels of the Albufera lagoon with the Mediterranean Sea, and in adjacent coastal waters. Different sampling methods were employed to target each life stage. (1) For zoeae, planktonic tows were conducted using a 300 μm manta net along 200 m transects parallel to the coastline at distances of 300, 1000 and 3000 m from the shore. (2) A small and manageable passive collector model was used to capture megalopae and juveniles in estuarine areas. This system was first tested from 2020 to 2021 in a single channel, with a weekly sampling frequency, and two more channels were added in 2022. Additionally, intensive daily sampling was conducted in one of the channels from September to November 2022 during the settlement peak. Results showed that zoeae of C. sapidus were more abundant in August 2021, at 1000 m from the coast, and appear to have a disjoint temporal distribution with zoeae of other crab species. Megalopae and juveniles were more abundant from September to November at all sampling sites and times. In 2022, collectors featured a dominance of megalopae at two of the sites (ca. 73%), while the site with the lowest salinity showed a dominance of juveniles (84%). For megalopae, comparative results from the intensive and the regular sampling campaigns showed that time of residence within collectors is just a single day. For juveniles, higher numbers were detected with increased deployment time, suggesting a need for enhanced habitat complexity.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Accepted version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
574 - General ecology and biodiversity
Pages
31
Publisher
Elsevier
Is part of
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Citation
Gil-Fernández, Alberto, M. Rodilla, Patricia Prado, and S. Falcó. 2023. “Early Life Stages of the Invasive Atlantic Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus in the Western Mediterranean Sea.” Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 108593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108593.
Grant agreement number
MICIU/Programa Estatal de generación del conocimiento y fortalecimiento científico y tecnológico del sistema I+D+I y Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/PID2020-118476RR-C21/ES/Ecology and impact of the Atlantic blue crab in Spain Mediterranean coastal lagoons, estuaries, and adjacent waters/ECESIS
Program
Aigües Marines i Continentals
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2555]
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/