Typescript.
Includes vita and abstract.
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-47). / Rhithropanopeus harrisii is an introduced Atlantic crab in Coos
Bay, Oregon. In Coos Bay, it occurs only in the uppermost estuary
where salinities are seasonally low (<1 0/00). Rhithropanopeus
occurs at higher salinities in its native range, and tolerates
higher salinities in the laboratory. A native crab, Hemigrapsus
oregoneos1s, occurs in the estuary, but not as far up into the
oligohaline and freshwater zones as Rb1tbcopanopeus. In laboratory
experiments, adult Hem1grapsus consume juvenile Rhithropanopeus.
Hemjgrapsus is significantly more aggressive than Rhithropanopeus.
The absence of juvenile Rhithropanopeus at field sites where both
species occur suggests that field interactions may be occurring.
Taken together, these results and observations suggest that there
may be a dynamic zone in the estuary where the distribution of Rhithropanopeus is restricted by Heroigrapsus. Rhithropanopeus may
find a refuge from Hemigrapsus in the oligohaline-freshwater Zones
of the estuary, such that Hemigrapsus may be exerting selective
pressure on the Rhithropanopeus population favoring freshwater adapted
individuals.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uoregon.edu/oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/9809 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Creators | Jordan, James Robertson, 1965- |
| Publisher | Thesis (M.S.)--University of Oregon, 1989. |
| Source Sets | University of Oregon |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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