COMPARISON OF RATES OF DEVELOPMENT OF ATLANTIC MUD CRAB LARVAE IN THE LABORATORY AND IN FIELD-DEPLOYED ENCLOSURES

Larvae of the Atlantic mud crab Panopeus herbstii were reared for 13 days posthatching using two different laboratory methods and using large, field-deployed enclosures (mesocosms). The laboratory diet consisted solely of nauplii of Artemia sp., while the enclosure diet was a natural zooplankton assemblage. Survival was generally higher in the laboratory, but the rate of larval development was faster in the mesocosms. Differences in developmental rates were attributed to dissimilarities in the respective nutritional environments.