https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23 Made with mirth en-us 2018-01-09 16:16:04 UTC 2018-01-12 15:05:14 UTC hello@padlet.com 16644251 https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220003976  Blue Crabs eat clams, oysters, mussels, smaller crustaceans, freshly dead fish, plant and animal detriuse, and other soft shelled Blue Crab. Predators include large fish like croakers and red drum; fish-eating birds like great blue herons; and sea turtles. The Blue Crab is a primary consumer as a predator, but is eaten by the secondary consumers of the Bay. Blue Crab In Food Web.

]]> 2018-01-09 22:57:12 UTC https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220003976 16644251 https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220004173 The scientific name of the Blue Crab is " Callinectes sapidus" which means "savory beautiful swimmer" in Latin. The color of the blue crab is olive green with beautiful blue claws. The Blue Crab  is a decapod crab of the swimming crab family Portunidae. The males have a T shaped abdomen. The Blue Crabs may grow to a carapace width of 23 cm (9.1 in).The Blue Crab is distinguished from other Portunidae crabs by the lack of an internal spine on the carpus (the middle segment of the claw). Male and Female Blue Crabs are easily distinguished by the shape of the abdomen (known as the "apron") and by color differences in the claws.

]]> 2018-01-09 22:58:41 UTC https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220004173 16644251 https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220005414 Interactions occurring with blue crabs is mainly competition with other animals such as seagulls, other birds, starfish, stingrays, and snails but  Interactions between the blue crabs mainly involves cannibalism. They only interact through eating each other. Blue Crabs demonstrate mutualism
with plants, the blue crabs eat mollusks off the plants, and the plants give the crabs protection and a hiding place from predators. Female blue crabs also sometimes share a parasitic relationship with nemertean worms. These parasites attach to the crabs' gills, and depend on the crab for food and shelter. Scientists are concerned that a drop in blue crab populations could harm salt marsh habitat, as periwinkle populations rise and the snails over-feed on marsh grass. Every summer, blue crabs migrate North to the Bay to spawn, once the females have spawned, they migrate back down to the lower area of the bay to law their eggs.

]]> 2018-01-09 23:12:52 UTC https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220005414 16644251 https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220016674 The fishing pressure in the Bay has decreased the amount of Blue Crabs living in the Bay. Shoreline development and the little amount of underwater grasses across the bay has led to a habitat loss for juvenile Blue Crabs. Dead zones with little oxygen near the bottom of the Bay which leads to the Blue Crabs suffocating crabs  as they move up the estuary during the summer. Fun Fact: female Blue Crabs only mate twice in life time, and can produce over 2 million eggs per brood. Fun Fact: the largest Blue Crab ever caught and it It measured 10.72 inches across and weight 1.1 pounds! Now that’s a big crab!

]]> 2018-01-10 01:17:27 UTC https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220016674 16644251 https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220019159 Blue crabs make up the most productive commercial and recreational fisheries in the Bay. It is estimated that more than one-third of the nation’s blue crab catch comes from the Bay. They also support a major recreational fishery in the Bay. Blue crabs—harvested as hard shell crabs, peeler crabs (just prior to molting) and soft shell crabs (immediately after molting)—have the highest value of any Chesapeake commercial fishery, bringing in more than $50 million per year. Juvenile and adult blue crabs serve as food for fish, birds and even other blue crabs. Striped bass, red drum, catfish and some sharks depend on blue crabs as part of their diet. Soft shell crabs that have just molted are particularly vulnerable to predators.]]> 2018-01-10 01:38:09 UTC https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220019159 16644251 https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220197103 2018-01-10 15:08:39 UTC https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220197103 16644251 https://padlet.com/16644251/p8xij1vghm23/wish/220612879 https://www.chesapeakebay.net/issues/blue_crabs


http://thebluecrabresources.weebly.com/ecology.html

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