Important Meroplankton of the Lower Chesapeake Bay and Proposed Norfolk Disposal Site. II. Crustaceans and Ichthyoplankton.
Abstract
Meroplankton which move through the area in ecological significant numbers are blue crab larvae, Bay anchovy larvae, bivalve veligers, polychaeta larvae, larvaceans, and the sand shrimp larvae. The study found many of the estuarine species maintain reproductive strategies that allow their larval forms to be retained within the vicinity of parent populations. Larvae of these forms select the subsurface waters preventing their explusion from the estuary. Other species routinely are carried offshore in the surface waters. Notable among the crustaceans are the blue crabs that undergo entogenetic development offshore and re-invade the estuary as juveniles. A number of offshore spawners were found primarily seaward of the Bay mouth (e.g. Cancer irroratus larvae, and Mysidopsis bigelowi); however, they visit the inshore zone via subsurface currents. The only taxonomic groups of meroplankton that appear to apparently move through the study area in ecologically significant numbers are the blue crab larvae, the Bay anchovy larvae, bivalve veligers, polychaete larvae, larvaceans and the sand shrimp larvae.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA165341
Entities
People
- Arthur J. Butt
- Raymond W. Alden Iii
- Robert J. Young Jr.
Organizations
- Old Dominion University