Ecology and Population Dynamics of Juvenile Dungeness Crab in Grays Harbor Estuary and Adjacent Nearshore Waters of the Southern Washington Coast.

摘要

This narrative on the life history, ecology and population dynamics of Dungeness crab is intended to provide background biological information for use in assessing potential impacts of the proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) Navigation Improvement Project in Grays Harbor, Washington. Much support for crab research has come from COE to fund research projects in the Grays Harbor estuary and much of the data derived from those projects are summarized in this document. The biological information collected to date on Dungeness crab has been used in a dredge impact model to estimate potential entrainment and mortality of crab according to various scenarios of construction proposed by COE. Of particular concern in Grays Harbor are large populations of juvenile Dungeness crab that reside in the estuary and may be affected by the navigation project. Biological and life history information on the timing of occurrence of crab in the estuary, spatial distribution and abundance, movement to and from the estuary from the nearshore coastal zone, growth rates, and habitat requirements are all issues considered in this document, and these data have been used to attenuate any effects of the construction program to the greatest extent possible.