Impacts of Conspecific Density on Juvenile Blue Crab Food Consumption

The blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is an important fishery species as well as a key predator and prey in coastal and estuarine habitats from mid-Atlantic to Gulf of Mexico areas of the United States. In North Carolina, the blue crab is among the leading commercial fisheries in terms of dockside poundage and value (NCDMF Fisheries Statistics, 2021). However, blue crab stocks have recently been identified as overfished based on declining catch per unit effort measures (NCDMF Blue Crab Management Plan Amendment 3, 2023). A recognized bottleneck in blue crab populations is survival through juvenile stages (Hines 2007). Blue crab late-stage larvae (megalopae) settle in structurally complex habitats such as submerged aquatic vegetation, oyster reefs, and shallow areas with detrital material such as occur in salt marsh channel areas (Hines et al. 1987; Hovel and Fonseca 2005; Posey et al. 2005). These habitats are...