This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tubiash, H. S. Articles by Colwell, R. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Tubiash, H. S. Articles by Colwell, R. R. Agricola Articles by Tubiash, H. S. Articles by Colwell, R. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1975 March; 29(3): 388-392
Copyright © 1975 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Bacterial Flora of the Hemolymph of the Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus: Most Probable Numbers

^* National Marine Fisheries Service, Middle Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Center, Pathobiology Investigations, Oxford, Maryland 21654; and Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742

ABSTRACT

The hemolymph of 290 freshly collected blue crabs from Chincoteague Bay, Va., was sampled over a 15-month period from August 1968 through November 1969 and most probable numbers of bacteria were determined by tube dilution. The hemolymph of 18% of all crabs sampled was found to be sterile, with 16% sterility in summer and 23% in winter samples. Despite individual variations, male crabs as a group had a higher bacterial hemolymph burden than females, and among both sexes summer counts were higher than winter. The hemolymph of crabs with missing appendages had significantly higher counts than uninjured crabs. The annual mean hemolymph most probable numbers per ml was 2,756 for males, 1,300 for females, and 1,876 for both sexes. The higher bacterial levels found in the hemolymph of male crabs may, in part, be explained by the fact that males, which predominated in the summer samples, had a higher incidence of injury and missing appendages than did females.