The physiological and avoidance responses of juvenile mud crab Scylla serrata to mercury was evaluated by determining mortality using a renewal-type acute toxicity test and assessing crabs’ ability to avoid toxic concentrations. The 96-h LC50 of mercury to juvenile mud crab was computed to be 0.04 mg L-1. When transferred to clean waters, crabs that survived exposure to concentrations lower than 0.04 mg L-1 had better chances of surviving than those that were exposed to higher mercury concentrations. Avoidance of juvenile mud crabs to mercury was determined using a fluvarium, which provided the crabs a choice between untreated and Hg-treated waters. Results showed that juvenile crabs were not able to avoid waters that contain 0.1 mg L-1 mercury, a concentration that was more than twice the 96-h LC50 value. Juveniles previously pre-exposed in 1/50th of the 96-h LC50 value had a higher avoidance threshold and were not able to avoid waters with 1 mg L-1 mercury. Results suggest that juvenile mud crab is unable to avoid waters containing lethal levels of mercury and this may have potential impacts on crab biomass, distribution, growth, and development
