Recruitment Ecology of Burrowing Shrimps in US Pacific Coast Estuaries

Abstract

Recruitment is a strong determinant of year class strength and adult population density especially for sessile benthic invertebrates where post-settlement mortality and competition are low or relatively stable over time. A series of surveys were undertaken to characterize recruitment and post-settlement processes for two species of burrowing shrimps, Neotrypaea californiensis and Upogebia pugettensis in order to determine how they influenced broader adult populations in US west coast estuaries. On average, U. pugettensis decapodids settled earlier (April–July), recruited almost exclusively to areas with conspecific adults, and grew more rapidly during their first summer than N. californiensis. Neotrypaea californiensis decapodids settled and recruited over a longer period (June–November) and were distributed across the tidal flat. While initially more abundant in areas with conspecific adults, they also either survived better or redistributed as small juvenile shrimp to areas where adults were absent. Linear relationships were found between abundance of newly recruited (0+ age class) shrimp and that of older 1+ shrimp a year later. Positive slopes were close to one for N. californiensis but less than one for U. pugettensis, suggesting lower survival. Annual recruitment varied dramatically but was more consistent for both species in Yaquina Bay. Patterns in strong recruitment years amongst estuaries, particularly for U. pugettensis, suggest the presence of multi-estuary metapopulations linked via larval dispersal. These results have important implications for shrimp population management including control for shellfish aquaculture, but also conservation of estuarine habitats due to the strong influence of these ecosystem engineers on the benthic community.