UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Jonah crab

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    EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES AND CHANGES IN SEASONAL PATTERNS ON SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF JONAH CRABS (CANCER BOREALIS) AND ATLANTIC ROCK CRABS (CANCER IRRORATUS) IN GEORGES BANK AND THE MID-ATLANTIC BIGHT, USA
    (2023) Wade, Kaitlynn Jean; Wilberg, Michael J; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The economic and commercial importance of Jonah crabs (Cancer borealis) and Atlantic rock crabs (Cancer irroratus) has increased greatly in the USA. The objectives of my research were to determine spatial distributions, habitat preferences, and potential seasonal movements of both species. Data were obtained from the offshore Northeast Fishery Science Center bottom trawl surveys. Analyses included kernel density estimates, generalized additive models, empirical cumulative distribution functions, and ANOVAs. The spatial distributions of Jonah and Atlantic rock crabs changed over time during the 1970s – 2000s. Compared to Atlantic rock crabs, Jonah crabs preferred slightly warmer temperatures, deeper depths, and muddier sediments. Seasonally, Jonah crabs were found farther offshore in the winter and closer to shore in the fall and spring. Atlantic rock crabs were found closer inshore in the winter and spring and more offshore in the fall. Both species were found to have different seasonal patterns in the Mid-Atlantic Bight