Seasonal variation of the crab community in the eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed in Kwangyang Bay was studied based on the monthly collections through a year of 1994. The crab community in the eelgrass bed was composed of 21 species representing 12 famil...
Seasonal variation of the crab community in the eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed in Kwangyang Bay was studied based on the monthly collections through a year of 1994. The crab community in the eelgrass bed was composed of 21 species representing 12 families. The community was dominated by Charybdis Japonica, Telmessus acutidens, Hemigrapsus penicillatus, and Pugettia quadridens. Crabs collected in the study area were primarily small-sized species or early juveniles of large crab species. Most individuals had carapace width smaller than 25 mm except C. japonica and T. acutidens which had maximum carapace width over 85 mm. More than 5 species were collected every month except January and February (4 and 3 species, respectively). The peak abundance occurred in August and low abundances in autumn and winter. Species diversity indices showed that more diverse crabs were collected In spring and summer, and lesser ones in autumn and winter. The crabs in the study area can be grouped into three groups on the basis of their occurrence patterns: resident species, seasonal species, and temporary species. More abundant and more diverse crabs were collected during nighttime than daytime.