Larval life history strategies of sub-tropical southern African estuarine brachyuran crabs and implications for tidal inlet management |
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| Authors: | Papadopoulos Isabelle Wooldridge Tris H Newman Brent K |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Zoology, University of Port Elizabeth, P.O. Box 1600, Port Elizabeth, 6000, South Africa;(2) Present address: Institute for Environmental and Coastal Management, University of Port Elizabeth, P.O. Box 1600, Port Elizabeth 6000, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Soon after hatching the larvae of many estuarine crabs migrate from estuaries to adjacent coastal waters soon, where larval development is completed before the post larval stages recruit to estuaries to settle. This study investigated the larval flux of several brachyuran crabs resident within a subtropical estuary on the east coast of South Africa. Plankton sampleswere collected over two intensive sampling periods during the spring of1997 (19 days) and the summer of 1998 (26 days). Larvae were releasedmaximally when high tide within the estuary was crepuscular, whilerecruitment occurred during nocturnal flood tides, with peak abundanceson the maximum amplitude nocturnal flood tides. The data are discussedin relation to freshwater inflow problems facing South African estuaries andthe active management of the tidal inlets of affected systems. |
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| Keywords: | crab larvae estuary management recruitment South Africa tidal exchange |
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