| Sesarma reticulatum | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Sesarmidae |
| Genus: | Sesarma |
| Species: | S. reticulatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Sesarma reticulatum | |
Sesarma reticulatum, the purple marsh crab or simply marsh crab, is a crab species native to the salt marshes of the eastern United States.
The range of S. reticulatum extends from Woods Hole, Massachusetts to Volusia County, Florida; a related species occurs in the Gulf of Mexico. [2]
Sesarma reticulatum is purple or brown, with darker speckles, with a carapace up to 1 inch (25 mm) long. [3] It can be distinguished from the closely related S. cinereum by the presence of a second tooth around the orbit of each eye. [4]
The larvae or zoea of Sesarma reticulatum are aquatic, residing at a depth of greater than 1 meter below the water's surface. [5] The larvae remain in estuaries during their development, providing food for predators. [6]
Their overpopulation, caused by over-harvesting by recreational fishermen of its natural predators such as blue crabs, striped bass, smooth dogfish and cod, has been blamed for the decline in cordgrass found in the salt marshes of Cape Cod and the decrease in the extent of salt marshes on the Atlantic coast of North America due to increased erosion. Scientists from Brown and Princeton universities methodically ruled out other causes for the degradation of the salt marshes. [7] The explosion in the population of sesarma crabs has provided additional food to night herons. The crabs eat marsh grass not only from above but underground in tunnels they construct. The research demonstrates the possible cumulative ecological impact of popular human activities such as recreational fishing. [8] [9]
A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the delivery of nutrients to coastal waters. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection.
Callinectes sapidus, the blue crab, Atlantic blue crab, or, regionally, the Maryland blue crab, is a species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and introduced internationally.
Mangrove crabs are crabs that live in and around mangroves. They belong to many different species and families and have been shown to be ecologically significant by burying and consuming leaf litter. Mangrove crabs have a variety of phylogenies because mangrove crab is an umbrella term that encompasses many species of crabs. Two of the most common families are sesarmid and fiddler crabs. They are omnivorous and are predated on by a variety of mammals and fish. They are distributed widely throughout the globe on coasts where mangroves are located. Mangrove crabs have wide variety of ecological and biogeochemical impacts due to the biofilms that live in symbiosis with them as well as their burrowing habits. Like many other crustaceans, they are also a human food source and have been impacted by humans as well as climate change.
Ovalipes ocellatus, known as the lady crab, is a species of crab from eastern North America. Other names for it include the leopard crab or Atlantic leopard crab due to the leopard-like rosette patterns on its shell, the calico crab, or ocellated crab. It has a shell 3 in (7.6 cm) long and only slightly wider, which is covered in clusters of purple spots. It occurs from Canada to Georgia, and lives mainly on molluscs, such as the Atlantic surf clam.
The Atlantic tripletail, also known as the black grunt, black perch, buoy fish, buoyfish, brown triple tail, brown tripletail, conchy leaf, dusky triple-tail, dusky tripletail, flasher, sleepfish, triple tail, triple-tail, tripletail, or tripple tail is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lobotidae. This fish is found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world except for the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The common snook is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. The common snook is also known as the sergeant fish or robalo. It was originally assigned to the sciaenid genus Sciaena;Sciaena undecimradiatus and Centropomus undecimradiatus are obsolete synonyms for the species.
The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin is a species of terrapin native to the brackish coastal tidal marshes of the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico coast, as well as in Bermuda. It belongs to the monotypic genus Malaclemys. It has one of the largest ranges of all turtles in North America, stretching as far south as the Florida Keys and as far north as Cape Cod.
The Florida stone crab is a crab found in the western North Atlantic, from Connecticut to Colombia, including Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, Belize, Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba, The Bahamas, and the East Coast of the United States. The crab can also be found in and around the salt marshes of South Carolina and Georgia. It is widely caught for food. The closely related species Menippe adina is sometimes considered a subspecies – they can interbreed, forming hybrids – and they are treated as one species for commercial fishing, with their ranges partly overlapping. The two species are believed to have diverged approximately 3 million years ago.
The crevalle jack, also known as the common jack, black-tailed trevally, couvalli jack, black cavalli, jack crevale, or yellow cavalli is a common species of large marine fish classified within the jack family, Carangidae. The crevalle jack is distributed across the tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Nova Scotia, Canada to Uruguay in the western Atlantic and Portugal to Angola in the eastern Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea. It is distinguishable from similar species by its deep body, fin colouration and a host of more detailed anatomical features, including fin ray and lateral line scale counts. It is one of the largest fish in the genus Caranx, growing to a maximum known length of 124 cm and a weight of 32 kg, although is rare at lengths greater than 60 cm. The crevalle jack inhabits both inshore and offshore waters to depths of around 350 m, predominantly over reefs, bays, lagoons and occasionally estuaries. Young fish dispersed north by currents in the eastern Atlantic are known to migrate back to more tropical waters before the onset of winter; however, if the fish fail to migrate, mass mortalities occur as the temperature falls below the species' tolerance.
Marine larval ecology is the study of the factors influencing dispersing larvae, which many marine invertebrates and fishes have. Marine animals with a larva typically release many larvae into the water column, where the larvae develop before metamorphosing into adults.
Sesarma is a genus of terrestrial crabs endemic to the Americas.
Brackish marshes develop from salt marshes where a significant freshwater influx dilutes the seawater to brackish levels of salinity. This commonly happens upstream from salt marshes by estuaries of coastal rivers or near the mouths of coastal rivers with heavy freshwater discharges in the conditions of low tidal ranges.
Tarpon are fish of the genus Megalops. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one is native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific Oceans.
Littoraria irrorata, also known by the common name the marsh periwinkle, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae. The specific epithet irrorata means 'moistened' or 'dewy.'
Low marsh is a tidal marsh zone located below the Mean Highwater Mark (MHM). Based on elevation, frequency of submersion, soil characteristics, vegetation, microbial community, and other metrics, salt marshes can be divided to into three distinct areas: low marsh, middle marsh/high marsh, and the upland zone. Low marsh is characterized as being flooded daily with each high tide, while remaining exposed during low tides.
Geukensia demissa is a species of mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mytilidae, the true mussels. This species is native to the Atlantic coast of North America. The common names for this species include ribbed mussel, Atlantic ribbed marsh mussel and ribbed horsemussel. However, the common name ribbed mussel is also used for the Southern Hemisphere mussel Aulacomya atra. The appearance of the shell is grooved and oval in shape. The interior of this mussel is tinted purple.
Mark D. Bertness is an American ecologist, known for his work on the community assembly of marine shoreline communities.
Salt marsh die-off is a term that has been used in the US and UK to describe the death of salt marsh cordgrass leading to subsequent degradation of habitat, specifically in the low marsh zones of salt marshes on the coasts of the Western Atlantic. Cordgrass normally anchors sediment in salt marshes; its loss leads to decreased substrate hardness, increased erosion, and collapse of creek banks into the water, ultimately resulting in decreased marsh health and productivity.
Armases cinereum, also known as the squareback marsh crab or wharf crab, is a species of crab in the family Sesarmidae. The wharf crab is a small crab that is dark brown to muddy in color, which allows it to blend in with its usual surroundings. It is found on the Atlantic southeastern coast, down into the Gulf of Mexico. It is an omnivore and is prevalent in marshy coastal environments along the Southwestern Atlantic.
Streblospio benedicti is a small polychaete native to the Western Atlantic, where its distribution ranges from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to Venezuela. Sexual maturity is reached at around 9 to 14 weeks and populations and individuals may vary during development. It can be found in the mudflats and soft sediments of estuaries and coastal waters. Its general habitat includes oyster reefs, mangroves, grass beds, marinas, and docks while the tidal range where S. benedicti can be found is subtidal to intertidal. Additionally, S. benedicti can tolerate a broad range of temperatures and salinities. Due to its tolerance of high organic contents, S. benedicti is a pioneer organism of new habitats that it settles in. Furthermore, despite its small size, only reaching a maximum of 20 mm (0.79 in) in length, S. benedicti plays an important role in estuarine food webs as it can reach high population densities and is a substantial grazer of phytoplankton.