Abundance and dispersal potential of horseshoe crab (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Limulus polyphemus</Emphasis>) larvae in the Delaware estuary |
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| Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Mark?L?BottonEmail author Robert?E?Loveland |
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| Institution: | 1.Department of Natural Sciences,Fordham College at Lincoln Center,New York;2.Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Cook College,Rutgers-The State University,New Brunswick;3.Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Cook College,Rutgers-The State University,New Brunswick |
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| Abstract: | The distribution, abundance, and dispersal patterns of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) trilobite larvae were determined from 671 plankton tows taken near a spawning beach in lower Delaware Bay, New Jersey, in
1998 and 1999. In both years, peaks in larval abundance occurred during periods of rough surf (>30 cm wave heights). Planktonic
larvae were significantly more abundant nocturnally than during the day, but there was no evidence of a lunar component to
larval abundance. Larvae were strongly concentrated inshore; trilobites were 10–100 times more abundant in the immediate vicinity
of the shoreline than they were 100–200 m offshore. The strong tendency ofLimulus larvae to remain close to the beach suggests that their capability for long-range dispersal between estuaries is extremely
limited. We suggest that limited larval dispersal potential may help explain previously observed patterns of genetic variation
among the Mid-Atlantic horseshoe crab populations. |
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