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Latebreaking Poster

Session: Biodiversity (Latebreaking)

LB 4-28 - Estimating Shannon-Wiener diversity from blue crab trap bycatch in North Carolina.

Thursday, August 10, 2023
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT
Location: ESA Exhibit Hall

    Presenting Author(s)

  • KR

    Kylan K. Rivera

    Undergraduate Zoology Student
    North Carolina State University
    Hope Mills, North Carolina, United States

    • Coauthor(s)

  • AR

    Alex Rocco

    PhD Research Assistant
    North Carolina State University
    Morehead City, North Carolina, United States

The purpose of this project was to compare the biodiversity of two different salt marshes by using the bycatch we got from our blue crab traps. To do this we set three traps out in one of our two locations twice a week. The three traps were peeler pots, standard pots, and minnow traps. We had 15 traps total and baited each with marlin, sardines, or lizardfish. After baiting the traps we left them traps in the designated area for approximately 24 hours. After 24 hours, traps are collected, and we recorded data such as location, type of trap, length, and species of bycatch. After data collection, the bycatch is released. We then imported the data to the R base program to calculate the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index. In our study we found that the Shannon-Weiner Diversity index of Haystacks has a higher diversity index than Prytherch Creek. In Haystacks, there was a total of seven species caught while only six species were caught in Prytherch Creek. While more individuals in total were caught at Prytherch Creek, the species evenness was much higher in Haystacks, which may explain the statistically significant difference between the two sites. The species richness is also higher in Haystacks, which could also explain why there is a statistically significant difference in the diversity index between the two sites. Trap selectivity may have affected our results. Peeler pots captured over 56% of our bycatch. The standard pot was the least effective trap for bycatch as it only caught 12.2% of our bycatch. The minnow trap was the smallest trap we used. This trap captured a lot of smaller species such as hermit crabs and pinfish. In conclusion, the study successfully compared the biodiversity of two salt marshes by using blue crab traps as a means of collecting bycatch.