Effects of crude oil on survival and development in embryonated eggs in Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Decapoda, Portunidae)

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26750 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kelsie L. Kelly ◽

Caz M. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Crude Oil ◽

Blue Crab ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Callinectes Sapidus ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

The United States ◽

Spawning Season ◽

Blue Crabs ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Important Species

Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, are ubiquitous along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. These organisms play an integral role in the ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), where not only are they a keystone species, but are also socioeconomically important. The survival of embryonated eggs is necessary to ensure adequate recruitment into the next generation. Because the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) occurred during the peak of the blue crab spawning season, the incident likely impacted blue crab embryos. In order to assess the effect of oil on embryonic growth and development, we collected embryonated eggs from seven different female blue crabs from the GOM throughout the spawning season and exposed them to an oil concentration of 500 ppb (the approximate concentration of oil at the surface water near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig). Exposure to oil at this concentration caused a significantly larger proportion of prezoeae versus zoeae to hatch from embryonated eggs in experiments lasting longer than 4 days. Exposure to oil did not significantly affect overall survival or development rate. The prezoeal stage is a little-studied stage of blue crab development. Though it may or may not be a normal stage of development, this stage has been found to occur in suboptimal conditions and has lower survival than zoeal stages. The larger proportion of prezoeae following prolonged exposure to oil thus indicates that crude oil at concentrations likely to be experienced by crabs after the DWH spill negatively impacted the development of blue crab embryos. In addition to providing insight into the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, this study sheds light on embryonic development in blue crabs, a critical, but poorly investigated phase of this important species’ life cycle.

Download Full-text

Effects of crude oil on survival and development in embryonated eggs in Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Decapoda, Portunidae)

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26750v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kelsie L. Kelly ◽

Caz M. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Crude Oil ◽

Blue Crab ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Callinectes Sapidus ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

The United States ◽

Spawning Season ◽

Blue Crabs ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Important Species

Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, are ubiquitous along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. These organisms play an integral role in the ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), where not only are they a keystone species, but are also socioeconomically important. The survival of embryonated eggs is necessary to ensure adequate recruitment into the next generation. Because the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH) occurred during the peak of the blue crab spawning season, the incident likely impacted blue crab embryos. In order to assess the effect of oil on embryonic growth and development, we collected embryonated eggs from seven different female blue crabs from the GOM throughout the spawning season and exposed them to an oil concentration of 500 ppb (the approximate concentration of oil at the surface water near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig). Exposure to oil at this concentration caused a significantly larger proportion of prezoeae versus zoeae to hatch from embryonated eggs in experiments lasting longer than 4 days. Exposure to oil did not significantly affect overall survival or development rate. The prezoeal stage is a little-studied stage of blue crab development. Though it may or may not be a normal stage of development, this stage has been found to occur in suboptimal conditions and has lower survival than zoeal stages. The larger proportion of prezoeae following prolonged exposure to oil thus indicates that crude oil at concentrations likely to be experienced by crabs after the DWH spill negatively impacted the development of blue crab embryos. In addition to providing insight into the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, this study sheds light on embryonic development in blue crabs, a critical, but poorly investigated phase of this important species’ life cycle.

Download Full-text

Photo-induced toxicity of Deepwater Horizon slick oil to blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) larvae

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry ◽

10.1002/etc.3026 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 34 (9) ◽

pp. 2061-2066 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Matthew M. Alloy ◽

Idrissa Boube ◽

Robert J. Griffitt ◽

James T. Oris ◽

Aaron P. Roberts

Keyword(s):

Blue Crab ◽

Callinectes Sapidus ◽

Deepwater Horizon

Download Full-text

Detection of the water-soluble fraction of crude oil by the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus

Marine Environmental Research ◽

10.1016/0141-1136(81)90018-0 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 3-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Walter H Pearson ◽

Stephen E Miller ◽

J.W Blaylock ◽

Bori L Olla

Keyword(s):

Crude Oil ◽

Blue Crab ◽

Soluble Fraction ◽

Callinectes Sapidus ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Water Soluble Fraction

Download Full-text

Factors Influencing Colonization and Survival of Juvenile Blue Crabs Callinectes sapidus in Southeastern U.S. Tidal Creeks

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13100491 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 491

Author(s):

Paul J. Rudershausen ◽

Jeffery H. Merrell ◽

Jeffrey A. Buckel

Keyword(s):

Salt Marsh ◽

Land Cover ◽

Blue Crab ◽

Detection Probability ◽

Tidal Creek ◽

Callinectes Sapidus ◽

Blue Crabs ◽

Tidal Creeks ◽

Occupancy Dynamics ◽

Factors Influencing

Tidal creeks along the southeastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico coastlines provide nursery habitats for commercially and ecologically important nekton, including juvenile blue crabs Callinectes sapidus, a valuable and heavily landed seafood species. Instream and watershed urbanization may influence the habitat value that tidal creeks provide to blue crabs. We investigated natural and anthropogenic factors influencing juvenile blue crab occupancy dynamics in eight first-order tidal creeks in coastal North Carolina (USA). An auto-logistic hierarchical multi-season (dynamic) occupancy model with separate ecological and observation sub-models was fitted to juvenile blue crab presence/absence data collected over replicate sampling visits in multiple seasons at three fixed trapping sites in each creek. Colonization and survival are the processes operating on occupancy that are estimated with this formulation of the model. Covariates considered in the ecological sub-model included watershed imperviousness, the percent of salt marsh in each creek’s high tide area, percent salt marsh edge, site-level water depth, and site-level salinity. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen were covariates considered in the observation sub-model. In the ecological sub-model, watershed imperviousness was a meaningful negative covariate and site-level salinity was a positive covariate of survival probability. Imperviousness and salinity were each marginally meaningful on colonization probability. Water temperature was a positive covariate of detection probability in the observation sub-model. Mean estimated detection probability across all sites and seasons of the study was 0.186. The results suggest that development in tidal creek watersheds will impact occupancy dynamics of juvenile blue crabs. This places an emphasis on minimizing losses of natural land cover classes in tidal creek watersheds to reduce the negative impacts to populations of this important species. Future research should explore the relationship between imperviousness and salinity fluctuations in tidal creeks to better understand how changing land cover influences water chemistry and ultimately the demographics of juvenile blue crabs.

Download Full-text

The return of the Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, after 70 years from its first appearance in the Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea, Italy (Decapoda: Portunidae)

Check List ◽

10.15560/12.6.2006 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 2006 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Chiara Manfrin ◽

Giovanni Comisso ◽

Andrea Dall’Asta ◽

Nicola Bettoso ◽

J. Sook Chung

Keyword(s):

Blue Crab ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Callinectes Sapidus ◽

First Record ◽

Blue Crabs ◽

Northern Adriatic Sea ◽

Northern Adriatic ◽

Gulf Of Trieste

Since August 2015, an increasing number of Blue Crabs, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, have been reported in the Marano and Grado Lagoon, Gulf of Trieste, in the northern Adriatic Sea. This species is not a new introduction and in fact the first record of C. sapidus in Italy and the entire Adriatic Sea dates back to 1949 in the Grado Lagoon. Interestingly, no other records of C. sapidus have been reported since the first record. Here, we note the re-appearance of C. sapidus in the Gulf of Trieste.

Download Full-text