Aj. Sanchez, HABITAT PREFERENCE OF PENAEUS-DUORARUM BURKENROAD (CRUSTACEA, DECAPODA) IN A TROPICAL COASTAL LAGOON, SOUTHWEST GULF-OF-MEXICO, Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology, 217(1), 1997, pp. 107-117
Pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum Burkenroad) are common in seagrass beds
dominated by turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum Koenig and Sims) where
density and biomass have been found to be significantly greater (p <
0.05) than on unvegetated soft substrata (USS). This preference was fi
rst observed in the field and later experimentally tested. Three varia
bles were included in the sampling design: 1) habitat type (seagrasses
and USS), 2) seasonal variation (dry and rainy seasons) and 3) extrem
es of shrimp activity (light-low tide and dark-high tide). Density and
biomass were significantly greater during the dark-high tide than dur
ing the light-low tide periods, with no effect on the shrimp's distrib
ution in the seagrass beds. The number of shrimp on the seagrass and t
he number of shrimp in the water column were experimentally recorded c
onsidering two factors: shrimp density (3.3, 6.7 and 10 ind./m(2)) and
light (light and dark). Preference for seagrass was significantly low
er (p < 0.001) in the dark condition than in the light condition. This
did not affect the number of shrimp which was experimentally observed
to be on an average 13 x greater on seagrass than on USS. Both the sp
atial (seagrass beds) and the temporal (night) scales should be consid
ered in future analysis of the value of this physical refuge for the e
stuarine phases of the pink shrimp. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.