Thilaksika Visayakumaran, Piratheepa Sivakumar<\/p>\n
Crabs are a highly important group of crustaceans, inhabiting various marine and coastal ecosystems. Brachyuran crabs are ecologically and economically significant marine species, particularly edible crabs, which play a vital role as seafood resource. The current study was conducted to document the diversity and abundance of brachyuran crabs at Vadamaradchy and Kakkaithevu fish landing sites in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, from December 2022 to August 2023. The present study revealed 26 crab species belonging to 19 genera of thirteen families. The majority of crab species (92%) were documented at the Vadamaradchy landing sites, compared to the Kakkaithevu.\u00a0Portunus pelagicus<\/em><\/i>,\u00a0Portunus sanguinolentus<\/em><\/i>,\u00a0Portunus gladiator<\/em><\/i>,\u00a0Charybdis feriatus<\/em><\/i>,\u00a0Charybdis natator<\/em><\/i>,\u00a0Scylla serrata<\/em><\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Thalamita crenata<\/em><\/i>\u00a0were identified as edible crabs during the current survey. Fourteen species were recorded for the first time at the Vadamaradchy landing sites. The highest abundance was recorded at Valvettithurai landing site (38.66%) in Vadamaradchy.\u00a0Portunus sanguinolentus<\/em><\/i>\u00a0was recorded as the dominant species contributing 33.47%, followed by\u00a0Portunus pelagicus<\/em><\/i>,\u00a0Charybdis feriatus<\/em><\/i>,\u00a0Charybdis natator<\/em><\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Portunus gladiator<\/em><\/i>\u00a0representing 23.33%, 16.16%, 12.37% and 7.83%, respectively, at the Vadamaradchy landing sites.\u00a0Portunus sanguinolentus<\/em><\/i>\u00a0was recorded in greater abundance from December to February and June to July, while\u00a0Charybdis\u00a0<\/em><\/i>feriatus\u00a0<\/em><\/i>showed its highest abundance from March to July, at landing sites in Vadamaradchy. Current study\u2019s findings could be used to evaluate crab populations and manage crab diversity in these areas.<\/p>\nDownload<\/h4>\n