Abstract

The stone crab Menippe mercenaria supports one of the most economically important fisheries in the southeastern United States, with Florida leading overall landings. Hard-bottom in the Florida Keys is an important habitat for Florida stone crabs and is characterized by a porous limestone substrate covered by sponges, octocorals, macroalgae and a thin layer of sediment. Over the past three decades cyanobacteria blooms have periodically occurred in Florida Bay, resulting in mass sponge mortalities. Mostly juvenile and young adult M. mercenaria are predominantly found residing in hard-bottom in solution holes and under loggerhead sponges Spheciospongia vesparium. Blooms have decimated populations of this sponge and the loss of habitat appears to affect the population structure and condition of the stone crabs that reside in impacted areas. Our research is examining the effects of hard-bottom degradation on stone crab nutritional condition, population size structure, site fidelity and whether M. mercenaria use chemical cues from sponges or macroalgae to navigate their home range. The results of this study will increase our understanding of the effects of habitat degradation on an important member of the benthic community in the Florida Keys.

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