Behavior of Blue Crabs Environment

Participants

Sep

Judith S. Weis, Rutgers University

Status

Sep

Ongoing, ends fall 2008

Problem

Sep

Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are important both commercially and ecologically. They are important members of estuarine and salt marsh food webs, being predators, scavengers, and juveniles are also prey to larger organisms. Studies have shown that an animal’s behavior is a sensitive response to contaminants, and that effects on an organism’s behavior can have consequences at the population and community level. Large blue crabs are also cannibalistic on smaller members of their species. We have been comparing behaviors of crabs from Hackensack (HM) and less polluted sites at Tuckerton (TK), and have found that HM juveniles are more aggressive than those from TK, and are also less likely to be preyed upon by adults, perhaps because of their aggressive responses. This study will investigate the prey capture ability of adult blue crabs from HM vs. TK using a variety of prey.

Objective

Sep

Define the factors responsible for the difference in HK and TK blue crab behavior by transplanting and monitoring blue crabs in both the “other” site and their native site. There will be a Field Study, Salinity Study, and Contaminated Food Study.

Strategy

Sep

Monitor blue crab behavior by the following methods: transplanting 20 blue crabs to the “other” site for six weeks; twenty blue crabs kept in their own site as controls; 20 kept in the lab aquarium in their native salinity; 20 kept in the lab at the “other” salinity level; 20 blue crabs fed their native killifish; and 20 fed killifish from the “other” site. After a six week period, all blue crabs will be brought to the lab for individual prey capture ability.

Activities

Sep

Deliverables

Sep
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