Feeding, foraging and starvation capability of ovigerous Dungeness crabs in laboratory conditions

Abstract

A laboratory experiment compared feeding rate, foraging response, and survival between unfed and fed ovigerous and nonovigerous Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) over a six month winter period from December 1994 through May 1995. Twenty-four female crabs were collected from Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay, southeastern Alaska, and separated into 2 treatments, each containing 6 ovigerous and 6 nonovigerous crabs. The treatments were in separate flow-through seawater tanks containing sediment. One treatment was fed a diet of squid while the other was not fed. Feeding rates and foraging responses were measured over a 24 hr period every 2 weeks. Ovigerous females had significantly lower feeding rates (9.0 ± 1.5 g・d^<-1>) than nonovigerous females (16.8 ± 0.4 g・d^<-1>) in the laboratory (two-way ANOVA, P < 0.001). The foraging responses of ovigerous crabs were significantly lower in comparison to nonovigerous females (Chi-squared test, P < 0.01). No mortality occurred in any treatment over the six month experiment, demonstrating that Dungeness crabs can survive over the winter without feeding in laboratory conditions.