A low intensity sampling method for assessing blue crab abundance at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and preliminary results on the relationship of blue crab abundance to whooping crane winter mortality
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Abstract
We sampled blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in marshes on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas from 1997 to 2005 to determine whether whooping crane (Grus americana) mortality was related to the availability of this food source. For four years, 1997 - 2001, we sampled monthly from the fall through the spring. From these data, we developed a reduced sampling effort method that adequately characterized crab abundance and reduced the potential for disturbance to the cranes. Four additional years of data were collected with the reduced sampling effort methods. Yearly variation in crab numbers was high, ranging from a low of 0.1 crabs to a high of 3.4 crabs per 100-m transect section. Mortality among adult cranes was inversely related to crab abundance. We found no relationship between crab abundance and mortality among juvenile cranes, possibly as a result of a smaller population size of juveniles compared to adults.
Study Area
| Publication type | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Conference Paper |
| Title | A low intensity sampling method for assessing blue crab abundance at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and preliminary results on the relationship of blue crab abundance to whooping crane winter mortality |
| ISBN | 978-0-9659324-1-7 |
| Year Published | 2008 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | North American Crane Working Group |
| Contributing office(s) | National Wetlands Research Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center |
| Description | 12 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Book |
| Larger Work Subtype | Conference publication |
| Larger Work Title | Proceedings of the tenth North American crane workshop |
| First page | 13 |
| Last page | 24 |
| Conference Title | Tenth North American Crane Workshop |
| Conference Location | Zacatecas City, Mexico |
| Conference Date | February 7-10, 2006 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| Other Geospatial | Aransas National Wildlife Refuge |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |