Introduction Seagrass meadows have long been recognized for their importance as refuge habitat for many species, particularly during their post-larval and juvenile stages. Small, vulnerable crabs therefore seek refuge from predators in complex habitats such as seagrass meadows.
Seagrass offers refuge for crabs by reducing a predator s search and capture efficiency.
In the Chesapeake Bay, seagrass is a vital nursery, molting, and foraging habitat for blue crabs, the most important commercial species found in the Bay. Because of concern for the preservation of these seagrass habitats, a critical issue facing conservationists and fishermen is the phenomenon known as habitat fragmentation, which leads to smaller, more isolated patches of seagrass. Results from terrestrial habitat fragmentation studies have shown that predation rates tend to increase as habitat fragmentation increases. Encounter rates between predators and prey are often higher at patch edges. Small habitat patches have proportionally more edge relative to interior than larger patches, which may explain reduced survival rates in more fragmented habitats.