Abstract
Shrimp are an important component of the San Francisco Bay biota, both as predators on benthic fauna, and as a food source for predatory fish. Of three common species in the bay, Crangon franciscorum is the most abundant. The bay is predominantly a nursery area for maturing shrimp of this species. During the main reproductive period in the early spring, ovigerous females and planktonic larvae are in most years centered outside the bay in the nearshore ocean, although both are also present in the bay. Juveniles move into both the southern reach and the northern reach shortly after settling, and landward-flowing bottom currents are possibly instrumental in this migration. The seasonal cycle of shrimp abundance in the bay, dominated by this spring immigration of newly settled juveniles, is characterized by a progressive migration of the growing shrimp up the estuary coincident with upstream penetration of higher salinity water during summer. Differences in abundance and distribution between the years 1980, 1981, and 1982 suggest that the level of river discharge and accompanying salinity regime are important controlling factors in the distribution, recruitment levels, and subsequent survival and growth of C. franciscorum in the San Francisco Bay.
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Hatfield, S.E. Seasonal and interannual variation in distribution and population abundance of the shrimp Crangon franciscorum in San Francisco Bay. Hydrobiologia 129, 199–210 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00048695
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00048695