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Variation in the tidal migratory behaviour and rhythmic light-responsiveness in the shore crab, Carcinus maenas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

C. G. Warman ,
D. G. Reid  and
E. Naylor
C. G. Warman
Affiliation:
School of Ocean Sciences, Marine Science Laboratories, University College of North Wales, Menai Bridge, Gwynedd, LL59 5EY.
D. G. Reid
Affiliation:
Fisheries Division, Scottish Office, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Marine Laboratories, Victoria Road, Torry, Aberdeen, AB9 8DB
E. Naylor
Affiliation:
Fisheries Division, Scottish Office, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Marine Laboratories, Victoria Road, Torry, Aberdeen, AB9 8DB
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Extract

The distribution of shore crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.), within the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of a rocky shore in the Menai Strait, North Wales, was recorded regularly by diving throughout the tidal cycle. Samples were also obtained by searching the shore during low tide and by collecting crabs in baited pots. It was found that the smaller individuals (<35 mm carapace width) in the population tend to remain within the intertidal throughout the tidal cycle whilst others, mainly the red-coloured adults, appear to remain permanently below low-water mark. The remainder of the population, predominantly green males larger than 35 mm carapace width, migrate upshore with the flood tide and downshore again with the ebb. The behaviour of C. maenas on the shore appears to be affected, at least in part, by a tidally rhythmic pattern of responsiveness to directional light which is seen in freshly collected crabs in the laboratory.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 73 , Issue 2 , May 1993 , pp. 355 - 364
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1993

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