8-29 



Ovalipes exhibited a well-defined seasonal pattern of 

 abundance in New Haven Harbor (Figure 8-7) , with the largest numbers 

 being consistently collected during the late summer and early fall. 

 Based on abundance data, Ovalipes enters the harbor during summer, 

 reaches peak abundances during early fall and leaves the harbor before 

 onset of winter. A similar peak in abundance was observed in Stamford 

 Harbor during 1972 (NAI, 1974) and impingement data from Bridgeport 

 (1977), Millstone (1977) and New Haven Harbor (1975-1977) also reveal 

 fall peaks. In New Haven Harbor a small -spring peak was also evident in 

 the impingement data during 1976 and 1977 (Table 8-5) ; this was not evi- 

 dent in the trawl data. 



It is not certain why Ovalipes migrates to the harbor during 

 summer and fall or even where it may be migrating from. However, as 

 with Libinia, one advantage of the s\ammer-fall migration is that competi- 

 tion for food and habitat resources with Cancer may be minimized. Since 

 preferred habitat and food resources are similar for these two species, 

 this type of migratory scheme allows Ovalipes to inhabit inshore waters 

 when the abundance of Cancer is low, and offshore waters when inshore 

 Cancer abundances are high, thus decreasing interspecific interactions. 

 Little interaction is expected between Ovalipes and Libinia (also a 

 summer-fall migrant) since these two species generally utilize different 

 areas of the harbor, Ovalipes being collected most abundantly in the 

 inner harbor and Morris Cove, and Libinia in the outer harbor at Stations 

 19 and 20. 



Homavus amerioanus 



The lobster, Homarus americanus , is the most commercially and 

 recreationally valuable crustacean along the coast of northeastern 

 United States (Saila and Pratt, 1973) . It ranges from Labrador to North 

 Carolina and is common in Long Island Sound. In southern New England 

 waters , Homarus is abundant from the subtidal zone to the edge of the 

 continental shelf. South of Long Island, however, it is restricted to 

 deeper waters due to warm temperatures and a lack of suitable substrate 



