Attraction of postlarval Penaeus aztecus Ives and P. setiferus (L.) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Penaeidae) to estuarine water in a laminar-flow choice chamber.
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Abstract
Attraction of postlarval brown Penaeus aztecus Ives and white shrimp P. setiferus (L.) to estuarine water from Galveston Bay, Texas was measured in a laminar-flow choice chamber. In replicate experiments conducted during their normal recruitment periods both species selected the estuarine water with significantly higher frequencies than the synthetic seawater control. Experiments conducted through the end of the brown shrimp recruitment period indicated that estuarine water lost its attractiveness by late-autumn/early-winter suggesting a biogenic source of attractant. Postlarvae displayed a nonsignificant tendency to turn upstream in the estuarine water and downstream in the control, behavior which we speculate may assist them in orienting towards nursery habitats.