Measuring the effect of salinity on the growth of juvenile Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus

Estuaries provide important nursery habitats for ecologically, culturally, and commercially important species such as the Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus, hereafter blue crab). Blue crab display sexually dimorphic migratory patterns along estuarine salinity gradients throughout their life history. Changing environmental conditions owing to climate change, including altered salinity regimes, could disproportionately affect these vulnerable early life stages by causing physiological or behavioral changes that decrease growth and fitness. In the case of species with sexually dimorphic distributions, such as blue crab, changing environmental conditions can differently impact male and female crab. We conducted a growth experiment on juvenile blue crab over five weeks to determine the effects of varying salinity conditions on growth, as well as the interaction between salinity and sex. Our results show sex, salinity level, and their interaction did not significantly impact the molting or growth of blue crab included in this study.