Variations of Abundance and Hatch Timing of Dungeness Crab Larvae in Southeastern Alaska: Implications for Climate Effect

Variations of larval abundance and hatch timing of Dungeness crabs, Cancer magister Dana 1852, were investigated. Dungeness crab larvae were monthly collected at 16 stations arrayed in four transects, Upper Chatham, Icy Strait, Cross Sound, and Icy Point, in southeastern Alaska from May to September 1997-2004. Larval abundance at all transects was the highest in June except in the Icy Point transect. Larval abundance was the highest in the Icy Strait transect, moderate in the Upper Chatham and Cross Sound transects, and the lowest in the Icy Point transect. Zoeae I(ZI) was predominated in May; thereafter ZI decreased and late zoeal stages occurred. In May and June, small numbers of late stage larvae unusually co-occurred with ZI in three transects. These late stage larvae may have been transported from where hatching occurs earlier. The timing of ZI occurrence varied interannually and was related to degreedays during the egg incubation period of Dungeness crabs: later larval hatching in 1997 and 2002 when temperatures were colder, while earlier larval hatching in 1998 when temperatures were warmer. The distribution patterns of Dungeness crab larvae in southeastern Alaska were markedly different from those reported from other areas of the species distribution ranges: larvae occurring much later in the year, and late stage larvae occurring in inland waters.