Good water quality and a stable habitat is essential to crab population growth. This is the ability to separate a part form the body. Although, it may take two or three molts before the limb returns to its normal size. Moreover, crabs have a natural escape mechanism called autotomy. Should they lose a claw or a leg, it will grow back. One amazing trait that crabs possess is the ability to regenerate.

It is probably best to release all adult females giving them the chance to reproduce. It is illegal in many states to catch sponge crabs. (See picture) The average sponge contains about two million eggs (Zinski, 2010). This is a pregnant female, and the orange “sponge” substance is her eggs. Should you find a female with an orange sponge-like substance attached to her abdomen, let her be. The new “soft shell” takes two to three days for the shell to harden. When crabs molt, they are vulnerable, and susceptible to attack. “In order for the crab to grow larger, it must periodically shed its smaller shell through a process known as molting” (Zinski, 2010). Invertebrates have an exoskeleton, an outer shell. Weather events such as hurricanes, coastal currents, El Niño, and prevailing winds can alter blue crab populations. As both predator and prey, blue crabs are a keystone species in the food chain. A crab’s diet varies through the life cycle stages.īlue crabs are economically valuable and support some of the most productive fisheries along the U.S. Common diet includes crabs, fish, clams, snails, shrimp, and worms. They are opportunistic feeders, meaning they will eat whatever is available, regardless of their size. Larvae will grow and eventually drift back and swim to the sanctuary of the bays and marshes.īlue crabs are predators as well as prey to other animals including humans. Females will swim toward open, high salinity waters to release their eggs. Their life cycle is closely related to migration patterns. To complete its life cycle, blue crabs utilize both inshore brackish waters and high salinity ocean waters (Whitaker, 2010). Yet, this species is most commonly found in brackish estuaries and bays from Massachusetts to Texas. The native range of the blue crab includes coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, from Nova Scotia to Northern Argentina, as well as the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

Mature female carrying brood of eggs called a Sponger or Sponge crab

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