Spatial and temporal patterns of spawning and larval hatching by the horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus, in a microtidal coastal lagoon
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Keywords:
Polyphemus
Horseshoe crab
Diel vertical migration
Ichthyoplankton
Many streams and large rivers present higher ichthyoplankton densities at night. However, in some rivers this does not occur and larvae are equally abundant during the day. Larval drift diel variation is an important information for planning sampling programs for evaluating larval distribution and production. The aim of this study was to test whether the abundance of larval fish was different at either period. We tested it by comparing day and night densities of characiform, clupeiform and siluriform larvae during five years in the Amazon and one year in Rio Negro. We found that larvae of three species of characiform and larvae of siluriform were equally abundant during day and night in the Amazon. Conversely, the catch of Pellona spp. larvae was significantly higher during the day. In Rio Negro, however, larval abundance was higher during the night. These results imply that day samplings estimate adequately the abundance of these characiform and siluriform larvae in the Amazon, but not Pellona larvae. Evaluations of larved densities of Rio Negro will have to consider night sampling.
Ichthyoplankton
Diel vertical migration
Fish larvae
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Polyphemus
Horseshoe crab
Diel vertical migration
Ichthyoplankton
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Horseshoe crab
Polyphemus
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Horseshoe crab
Polyphemus
Cape
Conch
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Horseshoe crab
Polyphemus
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Abstract The goal of this study was to determine the year round movement patterns of American horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire (USA) by using acoustic telemetry to track the movements of 37 adult Limulus, for periods ranging from 2 to 31 months. During the winter (December-March) horseshoe crabs moved very little. In the spring, when water temperatures exceeded 11oC, horseshoe crabs moved at least 1 km further up into the estuary to shallower subtidal areas about a month prior to spawning. The mean distance traveled during spring migrations was 2.6 ± 0.5 (n=20) km up the estuary. Mating occurred in May and June and during these months animals spent most of their time in shallow subtidal areas adjacent to mating beaches. In the summer (July-August), animals moved 1.5 ± 0.5 (n=26) km down the estuary, towards the ocean, and ranged widely, using extensive portions of the estuary. In the fall (September-November) movement was more limited (0.5 ± 0.5 km; n = 24) while animals settled into wintering locations, where they remained until spring. The mean annual linear range for all animals was 4.5 ± 0.3 km (n =35) and the maximum distance traveled by an individual horseshoe crab within one year was 9.2 km. There was no evidence that any of the horseshoe crabs tracked during this study left the estuary.
Horseshoe crab
Polyphemus
Horseshoe (symbol)
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Horseshoe crab
Polyphemus
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Horseshoe crab
Ecdysis
Polyphemus
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Horseshoe crab
Polyphemus
Full moon
Horseshoe (symbol)
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Spawn (biology)
Horseshoe crab
Polyphemus
Full moon
Sexual maturity
Expansive
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