Effects of the trawling ban on the diversity of demersal crustaceans (orders: decapoda and stomatopoda) in the marine environment of Hong Kong, South China

Oral PresentationFisheries & Marine Resources ManagementBottom trawling has been demonstrated to be one of the most destructive fishing methods to marine benthic communities. Since the 1970s, marine fishery resources in Hong Kong, especially large predatory species, have been overexploited by non-selective fishing gears including bottom and pelagic trawlers. This fishing down the trophic level has resulted in a benthic ecosystem primarily dominated by small herbivorous and omnivorous fishes and crustaceans. To mitigate such impacts, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has implemented a territory-wide trawling ban in local waters since 31 December 2012. This study aims to investigate whether crustacean resources, in particular of the orders Decapoda and ...postprin

Elucidating the food web structure of demersal crustaceans in Hong Kong's coastal water using stable isotope analysis

Fisheries & Marine Resources ManagementPoster presentation: P-47Bottom trawling has been demonstrated to be one of the most destructive fishing methods to marine benthic communities. Since the 1970s, marine fishery resources in Hong Kong, especially large predatory species, have been overexploited by nonselective fishing gears including bottom and pelagic trawlers. This fishing down the trophic level has resulted in a benthic ecosystem primarily dominated by small herbivorous and omnivorous fishes and crustaceans. To mitigate such impacts, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has implemented a territory-wide trawling ban in local waters since 31 December 2012. This study aims to investigate whether crustacean resources, in ...postprin

Population dynamics of the Mantis Shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria before and after the Trawling Ban in Hong Kong's Coastal Waters

Poster presentation: P-53Fisheries & Marine Resources ManagementThrough studying population dynamics of marine benthic species, we can reveal the changes of their population size and structure in relation to environmental changes due to management intervention such as prohibition of trawling based fisheries. The results of population dynamics studies can also provide baseline information for stock assessment and sustainable management of the species. Due to the overexploitation of fishery resources, a territory-wide trawling ban has been implemented in Hong Kong waters ...postprin

On the identities of three common shallow-water swimming crabs Portunus hastatoides Fabricius, 1798, P. dayawanensis Chen, 1986 and P. pseudohastatoides Yang & Tang, 2006 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae): Essentials for benthic ecological monitoring and biodiversity studies

The portunid crab Portunus hastatoides Fabricius, 1798, is a widely distributed common deposit feeder in sandy and muddy subtidal ecosystems in Indo-Pacific waters and has been frequently used as an indicator species in ecological monitoring studies. The identifcation of P. hastatoides in many previous monitoring studies was somewhat ambiguous and likely confused by the coexistence of other morphologically similar species (i.e., P. dayawanensis Chen, 1986, and P. pseudohastatoides Yang and Tang, 2006), which were often misidentifed as P. hastatoides. Correct species identification is crucial to generate accurate results from ecological monitoring and biodiversity surveys. In this paper, we redescribe the diagnostic features of these 3 morphologically similar species, P. hastatoides (but see below), P. dayawanensis, and P. pseudohastatoides in Hong Kong and Taiwanese waters and provide a refned species identifcation guide for benthic ecologists and environmental protection authorities. In the present study, we also found that P. hastatoides in Hong Kong and Taiwan morphologically differed from one of the types of P. hastatoides (from the Indian Ocean), suggesting the presence of a cryptic species complex. Before any extensive revisions are made on the group, we continue to refer to the Hong Kong and Taiwanese populations as P. hastatoides. Crab specimens were trawled from marine environments within the Taiwan Strait where these 3 Portunus species are common. Key features of each of these species were identified; these included the morphology of the carapace frontal teeth and male 1st pleopod

On the identities of three common shallow-water swimming crabs Portunus hastatoides Fabricius, 1798, P. Dayawanensis Chen, 1986, and P. pseudohastatoides Yang and Tang, 2006 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae): Essentials for benthic ecological monitoring and biodiversity studies

The portunid crab Portunus hastatoides Fabricius, 1798, is a widely distributed common deposit feeder in sandy and muddy subtidal ecosystems in Indo-Pacific waters and has been frequently used as an indicator species in ecological monitoring studies. The identifcation of P. hastatoides in many previous monitoring studies was somewhat ambiguous and likely confused by the coexistence of other morphologically similar species (i.e., P. dayawanensis Chen, 1986, and P. pseudohastatoides Yang and Tang, 2006), which were often misidentifed as P. hastatoides. Correct species identification is crucial to generate accurate results from ecological monitoring and biodiversity surveys. In this paper, we redescribe the diagnostic features of these 3 morphologically similar species, P. hastatoides (but see below), P. dayawanensis, and P. pseudohastatoides in Hong Kong and Taiwanese waters and provide a refned species identifcation guide for benthic ecologists and environmental protection authorities. In the present study, we also found that P. hastatoides in Hong Kong and Taiwan morphologically differed from one of the types of P. hastatoides (from the Indian Ocean), suggesting the presence of a cryptic species complex. Before any extensive revisions are made on the group, we continue to refer to the Hong Kong and Taiwanese populations as P. hastatoides. Crab specimens were trawled from marine environments within the Taiwan Strait where these 3 Portunus species are common. Key features of each of these species were identified; these included the morphology of the carapace frontal teeth and male 1st pleopod.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Effects of the trawling ban on demersalcrustacean resources (orders: Decapoda and Stomatopoda) in the marine environment of Hong Kong: a preliminary study

Oral presentation - Session 5: Marine Biological Resources: no. S5-8Conference Theme: Life in the Changing Ocea