The green crab Carcinus maenas in two New Hampshire estuaries. Part 1: spatial and temporal distribution, sex ratio, average size, and mass

Fulton, Beth; Fairchild, Elizabeth A.; Warner, Rebecca M.

doi:10.1163/1937240x-00002102

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Green crabs from the Carcinus genus (Crustacea, Decapoda) are one of the most widespread osmotically tolerant species in estuaries (Fulton et al, 2013) and thus represent an interesting physiological model in osmoregulation and salinity-tolerance studies. These robust organisms are of special interest, showing high tolerance to environmental and physiological changes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Osmoregulation and salinity-induced oxidative stress: is oxidative adaptation determined by gill function?

Rivera‐Ingraham

Barri

Boël

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Osmoregulating decapods such as the Mediterranean green crab Carcinus aestuarii possess two groups of spatially segregated gills: anterior gills serve mainly respiratory purposes, while posterior gills contain osmoregulatory structures. The co-existence of similar tissues serving different functions allows the study of differential adaptation, in terms of free radical metabolism, upon salinity change. Crabs were immersed for 2 weeks in seawater (SW, 37 ppt), diluted SW (dSW, 10 ppt) and concentrated SW (cSW, 45 ppt). Exposure to dSW was the most challenging condition, elevating respiration rates of whole animals and free radical formation in hemolymph (assessed fluorometrically using C-H 2 DFFDA). Further analyses considered anterior and posterior gills separately, and the results showed that posterior gills are the main tissues fueling osmoregulatory-related processes because their respiration rates in dSW were 3.2-fold higher than those of anterior gills, and this was accompanied by an increase in mitochondrial density (citrate synthase activity) and increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation (1.4-fold greater, measured through electron paramagnetic resonance). Paradoxically, these posterior gills showed undisturbed caspase 3/ 7 activity, used here as a marker for apoptosis. This may only be due to the high antioxidant protection that posterior gills benefit from [superoxide dismutase (SOD) in posterior gills was over 6 times higher than in anterior gills]. In conclusion, osmoregulating posterior gills are better adapted to dSW exposure than respiratory anterior gills because they are capable of controlling the deleterious effects of the ROS production resulting from this salinity-induced stress.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Osmoregulation and salinity-induced oxidative stress: is oxidative adaptation determined by gill function?

Rivera‐Ingraham

Barri

Boël

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is generally stated that female C. maenas are less tolerant of low salinity than males, which keeps the majority of females in the subtidal zone while males migrate in and out of the intertidal zone [107,108,110,145]. Multiple studies in Europe [91,109,146,147] and the western Atlantic [76,124,[148][149][150] have shown that in waters with a higher salinity sex ratios favor females. However, a recent study in Maine, US, found that females were more tolerant of low salinity than males and there were many females in the intertidal zone [87].…”

Section: Sex Ratiosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Skewed sex ratios have also been attributed to migration behavior during the mating periods of mature female C. maenas because the females likely migrate to downstream areas where the salinity is higher when they are ready to mate, leaving a greater proportion of males in upstream areas. In addition, more males than females may be caught in traps because males are more likely to enter traps because they are more active than females [107][108][109]151] and ovigerous females tend to be inactive and burrow into soft sediment to avoid predation so they do not feed and also will not be caught [65,76,149,152].…”

Section: Sex Ratiosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male biased ratios appear to be more common in the higher latitude portion of a range (colder in the Northern Hemisphere populations) whereas female biased ratios appear to be more common in the lower latitude (warmer) region. For example, within the nonindigenous northwestern Atlantic range, the M:F sex ratio is reported to be male-biased in the Prince Edward Island, Canada, region [111], but female-biased in the more southerly area of southern Maine [87], New Hampshire [149] and Massachusetts [76,150]. It is entirely possible, even likely, that the actual ratio of males to females in the population is very close to 1 (the same number of males and females) and the bias comes from sex differences in activity as well as the survey process itself.…”

Section: Sex Ratiosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using baited traps to determine peak ovigerous periods could be misleading because ovigerous females tend to burrow into sediment or other shelter and remain inactive to avoid predation so do not feed and will not be caught in traps [10,65,110,111,120,149]. Perhaps the use of Fyke nets or other passive collection methods in addition to traps might catch a broader range of C. maenas to mitigate the error inherent in using only baited traps [111].…”

Section: Ovigerous Females and Egg Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

PopulationDynamics of Green Crabs (Carcinus maenas) -- A Review

Young¹,

Elliott²

2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Carcinus maenas (the "shore crab" or "European green crab") is a very proficient invader (considered to be one of the world's 100 worst invaders by the IUCN) due to its phenotypic plasticity, wide temperature and salinity tolerance, and an extensive omnivorous diet. Native to Atlantic Europe, it has established two well-studied nonindigenous populations in the northwestern Atlantic and northeastern Pacific and lessstudied populations in Australia, Argentina and South Africa. Green crabs are eurythermal and euryhaline as adults, but they are limited to temperate coastlines due to more restrictive temperature requirements for breeding and larval development. They cannot tolerate wave-swept open shores so are found in wave-protected sheltered bays, estuaries and harbors. C. maenas has been the subject of numerous papers, with over 1000 published in the past decade. This literature review provides an up-to-date account of the current published information on the population dynamics of this very important species, including habitat preferences, physical parameter tolerances, reproduction and larval development, sizes of crabs, densities of populations, sex ratios, ecosystem dynamics and ecological impacts in the various established global populations of green crabs.

show abstract

Abundance, Sex and Size Distribution of European Green Crabs, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1785), at Natural and Aquacultured Oyster Areas in Great Bay Estuary, NH

Meyer‐Rust,

Lee,

Moll

et al. 2024

Aquaculture Fish & Fisheries

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Great Bay Estuary (GBE) is a complex estuarine system at the convergence of seven rivers, ocean and land. The GBE ecosystem supports typical estuarine species but, like many estuaries, has been a target of both invasive and range‐expanding species. The goal of this study was to compare abundance, sex and size distribution of green crabs between oyster farm sites and non‐farmed sites within GBE in 2021 and 2022. Overall catch was higher in 2021 compared to 2022. The highest population of green crabs was estimated to be in the farm area around Cedar Point, and natural/restoration area near Moody Point had the smallest European green crab population. In both years, the majority of green crabs captured (98%) were adult males, and few were juveniles captured. At the last sampling date of 2021 and 2022, most crabs were large (68 ± 0.5 mm and 63 ± 2 mm carapace width, respectively). Shellfish growers, restoration and management teams could use these data in mitigation strategies to sustain industries and enhance GBE health. This information is important for oyster restoration initiatives and oyster growers as they may want to: consider putting traps around their restoration reefs and farms to help reduce green crab infestation/predation in their growing areas; make decisions regarding best management practices and optimal growing locations when applying for permits; and work with management teams with gear improvement, such as floating gear, to reduce green crab intrusion into cages. High‐priority locations for trapping should be areas such as oyster farms, oyster reefs and restoration sites.

show abstract

The green crab Carcinus maenas in two New Hampshire estuaries. Part 1: spatial and temporal distribution, sex ratio, average size, and mass

Cited by 18 publications

References 30 publications

Osmoregulation and salinity-induced oxidative stress: is oxidative adaptation determined by gill function?

Osmoregulation and salinity-induced oxidative stress: is oxidative adaptation determined by gill function?

PopulationDynamics of Green Crabs (Carcinus maenas) -- A Review

Abundance, Sex and Size Distribution of European Green Crabs, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1785), at Natural and Aquacultured Oyster Areas in Great Bay Estuary, NH

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About