쏙의 생물학 - 최근 서해안 바지락 양식장에 이상 증식한 쏙의 제거 대책을 중심으로 -

Abstract

The mud shrimp Upogebia major (Upogebiidae: Decapoda: Crustacea) is a common species on muddy and sandy mud tidal flats in the west coast of Korea. They reside in Y-shaped burrows that can extend up to more than 2 meters below the sediment surface. They feed on suspended detritus carried into their burrow by the beating of their pleopods and captured by their hairy first two pairs of thoracic legs. Mud shrimp burrows provide a habitat for a variety of small organisms such as crabs, shrimps, polychaetes, and mollusks. Ovigerous females are observed from December to May. Females deposit eggs only once per breeding season. They start hatching in March and the pelagic larvae of first zoea appear in March and April, followed by benthic settlement in May. Growth over the first year is rapid, and females deposit their first eggs in the third breeding season, 31 months after their settlement. Adult shrimps live for 4~5 years. Depth of the burrow increases with body length. The deep burrows provide refuge from predators and physical stress, allowing the shrimps to survive for a long time. The mud shrimps supply oxygen-rich water to their deep burrows, and exert a great influence on the structure and metabolism of the tidal flat benthic community. However, recently this type of mud shrimp has posed a serious threat to the Korean clam industry along the west coast of Korea. The extensive burrowing shrimp populations suddenly invaded the tidal flats from 2010 where the clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) are raised. As a consequence, clam production has decreased by about 10% over the past three years in some Korean clam beds. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the biology of this mud shrimp in order to seek solutions to control the burrowing of these shrimps.