Dispersal

Abstract

Dispersal of benthic crustaceans primarily occurs by larvae, which can be transported far from parents. However, larval dispersal is reduced by depth regulation in a sheared water column, where surface and bottom currents flow at different rates or directions, and navigation by postlarvae recruiting to adult habitats. Larvae undertake migrations between adult and larval habitats that range from retention near adult habitats to cross-shelf migrations. The extent of these migrations is regulated by depth preferences and vertical migrations that are timed exogenously or endogenously by diel and tidal cycles over planktonic development. Depth regulation is cued primarily by gravity, hydrostatic pressure, and light, and secondarily by temperature, salinity, and turbulence. Settlement stages navigate to suitable settlement sites using hierarchies of acoustic, chemical, visual, and celestial cues that are effective at different distances. The extent of larval migrations between adult and larval habitats as well as diel vertical migrations may be set by the vulnerability of larvae to abundant planktivorous fish in estuaries and nearshore waters. The timing of larval release and vertical swimming by larvae changes across tidal regimes to conserve migrations between adult and larval habitats across species ranges while minimizing predation.