William & Mary W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2018 Crab Larval Abundance and Settlement Patterns in a Changing Chesapeake Bay Itchika Sivaipram College of William and Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Marine Biology Commons, and the Oceanography Commons Recommended Citation Sivaipram, Itchika, "Crab Larval Abundance and Settlement Patterns in a Changing Chesapeake Bay" (2018). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1550153654. http://dx.doi.org/10.25773/v5-m4ph-6w54 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. 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Crab Larval Abundance and Settlement Patterns in a Changing Chesapeake Bay A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Marine Science The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Itchika Sivaipram August 2018 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents and family for their endless love and support, and to my lifelong mentors, Nittharatana Paphavasit and Dr. Ajcharaporn Piumsomboon, who saw something more in me than I did in myself iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... xii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the dissertation ............................................................................... 2 Literature cited....................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 2 Biodiversity of crab zoeal assemblages in lower Chesapeake Bay, 1985-2002: Patterns and Processes ........................................................................................... 41 Abstract ................................................................................................................ 42 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 44 2. Material and Methods....................................................................................... 48 3. Results .............................................................................................................. 56 4. Discussion ........................................................................................................ 68 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................72 Literature cited.......................................................................................................74 CHAPTER 3 Impact of climate change on crab zoeal abundance in lower Chesapeake Bay.....109 Abstract ................................................................................................................. 110 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 111 2. Material and Methods.........................................................................................114 3. Results ................................................................................................................120 4. Discussion ..........................................................................................................124 5. Conclusion .........................................................................................................127 Literature cited........................................................................................................129 CHAPTER 4 Effect of warming temperatures on phenology of crab zoeae in lower Chesapeake Bay…………………………………………………………... 166 Abstract ..................................................................................................................167 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 169 2. Material and Methods........................................................................................ 172 iv 3. Results .............................................................................................................. 175 4. Discussion ........................................................................................................ 176 5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 181 Literature cited.......................................................................................................182 CHAPTER 5 Importance of local environmental conditions and transport process on settlement of three dominant crab megalopae in the York River, lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia……..........................................................................................................201 Abstract ................................................................................................................ 202 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 204 2. Material and Methods....................................................................................... 207 3. Results .............................................................................................................. 214 4. Discussion ........................................................................................................ 217 5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 225 Literature cited...................................................................................................... 226 CHAPTER 6 Summary and Concluding Remarks .................................................................... 272 VITA .......................................................................................................................... 276 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful to the Thai Ministry of Science and Technology as well as the Chulalongkorn University for the generous sponsorship of my doctoral studies here in the United States. I thank my advisor for the financial support she provided and VIMS for the additional funding through the VIMS Office of Academic Studies and a VIMS student research grant. So many people have made this dissertation possible through their help and encouragement. First and foremost, I must thank the Benthic Processes Lab for being such a supportive family over my time at VIMS. I thank my advisor, Dr. Linda C. Schaffner, for giving me the opportunity to develop my own research project, encouraging me to work independently, and guiding me through my dissertation work with patience. I am grateful for my lab manager, Jennifer Dreyer, for her guidance, ideas, meticulousness, humor, and enthusiasm; and to my labmate, Mathew Freedman, for his support and friendship. I would also like to thank my committee for their contributions, encouragement, and useful advice: Dr. Mary Fabrizio, for sharing her knowledge of statistical modeling and for providing moral support; Dr. Carl Friedrichs for always responding to my requests and questions quickly; Dr. Debbie Steinberg for her expertise on zooplankton ecology; Jacques van Montfrans, for helping me start my field experiments and with help identifying crab megalopae so that I was on the right track; and Dr. David Eggleston for insightful suggestions and references. I am grateful to have them on my committee. This dissertation would not have been possible without the help and support of many people. I would like to thank Michael Lane at ODU for advice and responding to my questions regarding to the mesozooplankton monitoring datasets. For staff and friends at VIMS, I would like to thank Dr. Ken Moore and Gary Anderson for providing data and suggestions on historic water temperature data collected at VIMS pier. Drs. Mike Newman, Jeffrey Shields, and Rom Lipcius for thoughtful advice and references, Many thanks to Joe Cope for helping with statistical analyses, Robert Epperson and Charles Banks for doing a phenomenal job cutting wood plates for building the passive collectors, Will Benton and Bob Polley for helping with IT issues. I appreciated the help with books and journal articles from the wonderful VIMS librarians – Carol Coughlin and the now retired Diane Walker. I would also like to thank the following individuals for help in keeping me on track and for kind assistance: Dr. Iris Anderson, Dr. Mark Brush, Jennifer Hay, Cathy Cake, Gina Burrell, Maxine Butler, Fonda Powell, Steve Sechrist, Eva Wong, Emily Bailey, Wendy Urbano, Mike Seebo, Katie Knick, Jennifer Stanhope and many other wonderful people. Good friends are like family. In the process of pursuing my doctoral degree in the opposite side of the world