Research Spotlight: Dungeness Crabs

Jul 2, 2024 | Project Update

The light trap at Ch’ax̱áy̓ / Horseshoe Bay has been in the water fishing for Dungeness megalopae (the last larval stage of Dungeness crabs) for three months now. We found our first Dungeness megalopa on June 2nd, and as of June 17th our volunteers have counted 328 megalopae!

Of the 30 light traps across BC’s coast, half have recorded Dungeness megalopae at this point in the season. From these traps, a total of 3815 megalopae have been recorded so far.

This partnership with the Hakai Institute Sentinels of Change initiative contributes to research that provides insights into where and when Dungeness crab larvae arrive during the warmer months of the year across the Salish Sea. These monitoring efforts help researchers understand the reproduction and dispersal of these marine invertebrates which in turn helps inform management decisions for the Salish Sea.

Dungeness crab megalopae

Dungeness life cycle (illustration by Mercedes Minck)

Our volunteer Ellie counting megalpae

Research Spotlight: Allie Roberts, PhD student

We are excited for our light trap in partnership with Hakai Institute to be contributing to other valuable research programs. Allie Roberts, a PhD student in the Suttle Lab at UBC is collecting megalopae from the Ch’ax̱áy̓ / Horseshoe Bay light trap as part of her research on the viruses and other organisms associated with Dungeness crabs in their planktonic stages (such as megalopa).
 
Not much is known about planktonic stage mortality of these invertebrates or the pathogens that may be impacting them. Nor is it known whether or not pathogens impact the adult stages or overall populations of Dungeness crabs.
 
In collaboration with the Hakai Institute, Allie is conducting discovery work that aims to explore and understand the organisms that are associated with this key stage of the Dungeness life cycle.

Learn more about the Larval Dungeness Crab Monitoring Program