The Craboratory

For our first , meet Hailee Nigro a third year PhD Candidate from Tampa, FL. Her research focuses on temperature dependent growth, size at maturity, and reproduction of blue crabs with population-level and fisheries implications in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Craboratory wouldn't be what it is without passion and fun. We love what we do, we want to learn and understand - And we find ways to do so while laughing and embracing all the aspects of science."

Today was an exciting day here at the Craboratory! Three of the local commercial crabbers who have collaborated with USM for many years came to campus for a tour of our lab and to see the wonderful research being done. They always teach us so much, so it was our turn to return the favor! 🦀

Since May, we've tagged and released nearly 300 mature female blue crabs around the MS barrier islands. If you catch one, please report it and claim your reward.

We had a stowaway on the Thalinectes this week, enjoying the ride to Horn Island.

Water spout at the Chandeleur Islands.

Graduate student Matt Byrnes pulls in a crab trap at Horn Island. The barrier islands on the south side of Mississippi Sound are important spawning habitat for female blue crabs. We sample at the islands monthly to estimate crab abundance and reproductive output.

Wakulla Beach, FL

USM Ph.D. student Zac Lane is studying the structure of the burrows used by mating fiddler crabs. After removing the crab from the burrow, Zac uses expanding foam to make a cast of the burrow. He is then able to photograph and measure burrow shape and structure. These are two views of a recent burrow cast.

Fiddler crabs are deposit feeders, eating organic matter (algae, bacteria, detritus, etc.) in the sediment. At low tide, large numbers of fiddler crabs can be found in the low intertidal zone, where the receding tide has deposited large amounts of organic matter.