Assessment of treatment-specific tethering survival bias for the juvenile blue crab Callinectes sapidus in a simulated salt marsh.

ABSTRACT: The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is ecologically and economically important in Chesapeake Bay. Nursery habitats, such as seagrass beds, disproportionately contribute individuals to the adult segment of populations. Salt marshes dominated by smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora are intertidal nursery habitats which may serve as a refuge from predation for juvenile blue crabs. However, the effects of various characteristics of salt marshes on nursery metrics, such as survival, have not been quantified. Comparisons of juvenile survival between salt marshes and other habitats often employ tethering to assess survival. Although experimental bias when tethering juvenile prey is well recognized, the potential for habitat-specific bias in salt marshes has not been experimentally tested. Using

SUBMITTER: Miller CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10593224 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature