• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.310-319
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• 2019

Although mud shrimp (Upogebia Major) provides benefits on the tidal flat ecosystem, it is causing the mass mortality of Manila clam (Tapes philippinarum) and large economic loss to the aquaculture farmer due to spreading in the entire coastal clam farm area of the West Sea of Korea. In this study, a mud shrimp blocking box for cultivating clam was tested to prevent the mud shrimp from invading the habitat of the clam. To determine the effect of the blocking box, the growth characteristics of the clams under various culture conditions were investigated. The shell length, total weight, condition index, the presence of mud shrimp in the box, and the soil decay in the box were examined according to whether the clams were raised in the box or in natural state, whether the box is covered with a net or not and the gap size of the box. As a result, no significant differences in shell length, total weight, and condition index were found between the clam grown in the box and the natural state (P>0.05) without any evidence of invading of mud shrimp to the box. In addition, the soil inside the box was in good condition, not decayed. Therefore, using the mud shrimp blocking box, mud shrimp can be prevented from propagating to the habitat of the clam, thereby contributing to the normal production of the clam and thus to restoring the clam farming.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.323-349
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• 2013

The mud shrimp Upogebia major (Upogebiidae: Decapoda: Crustacea) is a common species on muddy and sandy mud tidal flats in the west coast of Korea. They reside in Y-shaped burrows that can extend up to more than 2 meters below the sediment surface. They feed on suspended detritus carried into their burrow by the beating of their pleopods and captured by their hairy first two pairs of thoracic legs. Mud shrimp burrows provide a habitat for a variety of small organisms such as crabs, shrimps, polychaetes, and mollusks. Ovigerous females are observed from December to May. Females deposit eggs only once per breeding season. They start hatching in March and the pelagic larvae of first zoea appear in March and April, followed by benthic settlement in May. Growth over the first year is rapid, and females deposit their first eggs in the third breeding season, 31 months after their settlement. Adult shrimps live for 4~5 years. Depth of the burrow increases with body length. The deep burrows provide refuge from predators and physical stress, allowing the shrimps to survive for a long time. The mud shrimps supply oxygen-rich water to their deep burrows, and exert a great influence on the structure and metabolism of the tidal flat benthic community. However, recently this type of mud shrimp has posed a serious threat to the Korean clam industry along the west coast of Korea. The extensive burrowing shrimp populations suddenly invaded the tidal flats from 2010 where the clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) are raised. As a consequence, clam production has decreased by about 10% over the past three years in some Korean clam beds. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the biology of this mud shrimp in order to seek solutions to control the burrowing of these shrimps.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.656-665
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• 2019

Environmental monitoring was conducted to identify the characteristics and patterns of sedimentary environments of tidal flats in 12 areas on the west coast of Korea. The habitat of the mud shrimp Upogebia major contained higher organic and mud contents compared to the habitat of the manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum. In particular, the mud content increased from 84.38% to 89.18% in the Seongam-4 area, where the mud shrimp and manila clam coexist, and the mean grain size exhibited a finer particle size, from 5.48 Φ to 5.80 Φ. In the mud shrimp habitat, the sediment mud content was > 60% and the mean grain size was > 5 Φ. Additionally, the mud shrimp only inhabited open coast tidal flat areas. The management of shellfish aquaculture farms by physical methods should be continued based on comparison of the sedimentary environments in the Boryeong and Seongam areas in response to the damage to the mud shrimp habitat.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.413-420
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• 2017

The increase in the number of mud shrimps Upogebia major is a concern because of their negative effects on shellfish aquaculture, including Manila clam Venerupis philippinatum along the west coast of Korea. This study developed a behavioral analysis system for aquatic animals using a set of monochromatic light-emitting diode (LED) modules covering the visible light range at similar intervals. Movements of mud shrimp were monitored using a tracking system under illumination with infra-red light and an LED of 660 nm wavelength without provoking stimulation. The minimum light intensity needed to induce a photoresponse by the mud shrimp was $10{\mu}mole/m^2/s$ under the conditions tested. Of the six kinds of LED illuminations tested, the most sensitive response was obtained with illumination with the 505 nm LED, followed in order by LEDs with peak wavelengths of $525nm{\fallingdotseq}465nm$ > $405nm{\fallingdotseq}590nm$ > 660 nm. These findings should help to identify LED sources that efficiently induce movement of the mud shrimp and also for monitoring movement without stimulating.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.171-182
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• 2022

The habitat degradation caused by large-scale reclamation leads to devastating impacts, such as fine sediment and mud shrimp Upogebia major settlement on Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum aquaculture in the eastern Cheonsu Bay tidal flats, Republic of Korea. Despite these impacts, there is a lack of studies on the influence of fine sediments on tidal flats that constitute key mud shrimp habitats. This study provides information on the seawater-sediment environment and the influence of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) fluctuations depending on mud shrimp burrow hole density. Additionally, it discusses countermeasures for Manila clam habitat management. The results show that mean DIN effluxes in areas with a high-density of burrow holes were up to 4 times (0.12 mmol m^-2 d^-1) higher than those in sites of low-density (0.03 mmol m^-2 d^-1) within the Saho and Songhak-ri tidal flats. To manage interference within the competition zone of Songhak-ri tidal flat, it is important to utilize the settlements of spawning season in all three dimensions. Consequently, additional studies in other tidal flats are essential and research in zones where mud shrimps and juvenile clams coexist will help to determine the priorities in the efficient management of clam aquaculture.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.298-307
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• 2023

The annual reproductive cycle of two species, Upogebia major (de Haan 1841) and Austinogebia wuhsienweni (Yu 1931), of the female mud shrimp from the west coast of Korea was investigated using histology. The collected samples were divided into adult and juvenile groups to understand the mature period of age class based on the carapace length(CL). Juvenile Upogebia(CL<25mm) were mostly inactive gonad with early (62%-100%) and late (10%-38%) development stages during the year, whereas the adult shrimp showed a seasonal pattern of gonad maturation(CL≥25 mm). The early and late developmental stages of oocytes were observed in adult Upogebia from November to March and mature eggs appeared from April to October. In adult Ausitnogebia (CL≥15 mm), fully grown oocytes were consistently observed during the study period, in which the ripe stage was found between January and June. On the other hand, most juvenile Austinogebia (CL<15 mm) maintained an immature state in the gonad. Both species of the mud shrimp reproduced from ovigerous females in the adult population and their egg-bearing period was distinguished from January to April for U. major and from July to September for A. wuhsienweni.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.334-338
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• 2014

Specimens of Austinogebia wuhsienweni (Yu, 1931) previously recorded from China to Japan were collected at a manila clam farm of 0.5 m depth in Hongseong, Yellow Sea. They were briefly described and illustrations included color photographs, since this was the first record of this rare species from Korean waters. Three species of Upogebiidae are known from Korean waters: Upogebia major (De Haan, 1839), U. issaeffi (Balss, 1913), and A. wuhsienweni (Yu, 1931). They are similar to each other, however, the presence of the ventral spines of the rostrum, a proximal knob on the lateral margin of the uropodal endopod, and a longitudinal carina on the inner surface of the palm of the male first pereiopod can easily distinguish the present species from the two species of Upogebia.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.208-216
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• 2012

The properties of sediment collected from seabed surface to 6cm depth on the four positions were analyzed to investigate turbulence of marine sediments by shrimp beam trawl. Types of sediments in the investigation area were (g)mS (slightly gravely muddy sand) and gmS (gravely muddy sand) showing high sand content, and (g)sM (slightly gravely sandy mud), gsM (gravely sandy mud) as well. It is estimated that position is more crucial factor than seasonal difference for the granularity variation of sediment in each investigation area. Finding the positional characteristics of sediment granularity was difficult before removing shells and organic matter. However, the average granularity is getting larger by going out from inland sea to open sea once those were removed. The granularity of marine sediment got narrow after processing in the fishing area for shrimp beam trawl but there was no big difference for granularity size before and after processing in the non-fishing area. This might be attributed to crushed shell particles going up and down again on the surface in the fishing area. To demonstrate the hypothesis mentioned above, the sediments driven by shrimp beam trawl need to be collected and analyzed.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.257-264
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• 2009

Seventeen females of the mud crab Scylla serrata, from the State of Kosrae, Micronesia, were transported to the Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Gyeongsangnam-do, in oxygen-filled plastic bags. After acclimatization to a $30^{\circ}C$ holding temperature, nine females were selected for seed production trials. Spawning was hastened using eyestalk ablations; however, this may not be required in commercialscale mud crab seed production. Primary spawning produced an average of 2.4 million hatched larvae, whereas secondary spawning produced 0.4 million. About 10 days elapsed between spawning and hatching and 30 days between hatching and crablet. Mass mortalities up to 90% were observed between stages zoea 1 and zoea 2 in every trial. The highest survival rate from zoea 1 to crablet was estimated at 0.25%. Most commercial shrimp hatcheries in Korea are equipped with almost all necessary facilities and could be converted easily to mud crab hatcheries, able to run three to four times per year using hatchery technologies developed for blue crabs and Chinese mitten crabs.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.232-238
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• 2005

This paper describes reproduction, population structure, growth and size at sexual maturity of a deep-water mud shrimp (Solenocera melantho) in the adjacent waters of Geomun Island, Korea. The shrimp was caught by a beam trawl from November 1998 to December 1999. Spawning period was estimated by gonadosomatic index to be from August to early November with a peak in October to early November. Female shrimps were $12\%$ matured at 16 mm in carapace length, $33\%$ matured at 18 mm and $75\%$ matured at 22 mm. The size at $50\%$ maturity for female was estimated to be 20.65 mm in carapace length. Breeding season was estimated to be from August to early November with a peak in October to early November. The size at $50\%$ inseminated was 19.81 mm CL. The fecundity was 87,500-405,200 and related exponentially to carapace length and total weight. This species survived between 25 and 26 months. The maximum carapace length of females and males were 48 mm and 34 mm respectively. Sex ratio was $51.3\%$, and the females were preponderant. Growth was estimated by modified von Bertalanffy growth function incorporating seasonal variation in growth in both years females (K=1.019/yr and $L_{\infty}$=51.731 mm CL) grew faster, reaching a larger size at a given age than males (K=1.848/yr, and $L_{\infty}$=27.499 mm CL). This is indicated by differences in growth performance indices $(\varphi')$ between females (3.291) and males (3.145).