Abstract The green porcelain crab Petrolisthes armatus is an abundant invader on intertidal oyster reefs along the southeastern coast of the United States. Its range expansion appears to be thermally limited and is predicted to shift poleward as water temperatures rise. Little is known about how P. armatus' seasonal residency patterns affect its reproductive potential near its northern range limit. To study these factors, P. armatus was collected every two weeks over a 20-month period (April 2017 to November 2018) on an intertidal oyster reef within its non-native range in Charleston, SC. Crab abundance, size, sex, and ovigery status were recorded. In addition, a laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the time elapsed between broods for large vs. small adult females. Petrolisthes armatus abundances varied seasonally and were highest in the summers of both years. Adults were collected in April after a mild winter (2017), indicating overwintering occurred, but after a harsh winter (2018), no crabs were collected on the reef the following spring, with adults first collected in July. Peak ovigery rates reached 95% of adult female crabs in some summer months. Juvenile recruits matured and contributed to the reproductive population 6–8 weeks after first being collected in the intertidal oyster habitat. In the laboratory experiment, the median time between broods was 6 days (range 2–22 days). Females were observed with new broods immediately post-molt and also several days following their molt, suggesting mating occurs for females in intermolt and post-molt states. Study results indicate that overwintering success affects the timing of the start of the reproductive season, its duration, and total annual brood production. The laboratory observations suggest rapid sequential brood production occurs for this species in the non-native range. Brood production rates and evidence that females mate in intermolt and post-molt states are new information for this species and are consistent with previous observations of high reproductive output in the non-native range. Further poleward range expansion seems likely, in part due to high reproductive output and rapid recovery following harsh winters.

中文翻译：

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绿瓷蟹 Petrolisthes armatus 在非原生地潮间带牡蛎礁上的栖息地和繁殖模式

摘要 绿瓷蟹 Petrolisthes armatus 是美国东南沿海潮间带牡蛎礁上的大量入侵者。它的范围扩展似乎受到热限制，预计会随着水温升高而向两极移动。关于 P. armatus 的季节性居住模式如何影响其北部范围限制附近的繁殖潜力知之甚少。为了研究这些因素，在 20 个月的时间里（2017 年 4 月至 2018 年 11 月）每两周在南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿的非原生范围内的潮间带牡蛎礁上收集一次 P. armatus。记录了螃蟹的丰度、大小、性别和卵巢状况。此外，还进行了一项实验室实验，以确定大型成年雌性与小型成年雌性的育雏之间经过的时间。Petrolisthes armatus 丰度随季节变化，在这两年的夏季最高。在温和的冬季（2017 年）后于 4 月收集了成虫，表明发生了越冬，但在严冬（2018 年）之后，第二年春天没有在礁石上收集螃蟹，成虫于 7 月首次收集。在某些夏季月份中，95% 的成年雌性螃蟹的繁殖率达到峰值。在潮间带牡蛎栖息地首次收集后 6-8 周，幼鱼成熟并为繁殖种群做出贡献。在实验室实验中，育雏之间的中位时间为 6 天（范围 2-22 天）。雌性在蜕皮后立即以及在蜕皮后几天观察到新的幼崽，这表明雌性在蜕皮间和蜕皮后状态下发生交配。研究结果表明，越冬成功会影响繁殖季节开始的时间、持续时间和年度育雏总产量。实验室观察表明，该物种在非本地范围内发生了快速的连续育雏。育雏率和雌性在蜕皮间和蜕皮后状态交配的证据是该物种的新信息，与之前对非本地范围内高繁殖产量的观察结果一致。进一步向极地范围扩大似乎是可能的，部分原因是高繁殖率和严冬后的快速恢复。育雏率和雌性在蜕皮间和蜕皮后状态交配的证据是该物种的新信息，与之前对非本地范围内高繁殖产量的观察结果一致。进一步向极地范围扩大似乎是可能的，部分原因是高繁殖率和严冬后的快速恢复。育雏率和雌性在蜕皮间和蜕皮后状态交配的证据是该物种的新信息，与之前对非本地范围内高繁殖产量的观察结果一致。进一步向极地范围扩大似乎是可能的，部分原因是高繁殖率和严冬后的快速恢复。