The Role of Tidal Fronts in Maintaining Patches of Brachyuran Zoeae in Estuarine Waters

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Abstract
Brachyuran larvae were sampled along a 200-m, NE-SW transect crossing a tidal front in lower Delaware Bay. Concentrations of the larval mud crab Neopanope sayi ranged from approximately 30 zoeae .cntdot. m-3 NE of the front to more than 7,000 zoeae .cntdot. m-3 SE of the front with an intermediate concentration in the front. Zoeal stages I and II were most abundant at each sampling site, suggesting that the patch of N. sayi resulte from a spawning event that occurred 4-5 days earlier. Physical concentrating mechanisms associated with the front, combined with vertical movements by the larvae, appeared to be responsible for maintaining the concentrated patch of larvae of N. sayi.

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