In the Mobile Bay-Mississippi Sound estuarine system, C. similis is numerically dominant in open-bays, while C. sapidus is more abundant in shallow salt marshes. Juvenile C. similis recruit into both open-bays and salt marshes, but juvenile C. sapidus primarily recruit into shallow salt marshes. Sex ratios of C. similis and C. sapidus were generally skewed towards higher proportions of males. Callinectes similis appears to have a life cycle similar to that of C. sapidus. Egg-carrying C. similis migrate to higher salinity waters and presumably release larvae to nearshore shelf waters; following development, larvae re-invade estuaries as megalopae. Juvenile C. similis grow more slowly than C. sapidus, attributable to reduced feeding rates. Callinectes similis and C. sapidus, respectively, produced 2.4-5.5 × 105 and 2.1-3.2 × 106 eggs and invested 24-49 and 171-372 kJ per brood. Rhizocephalan barnacle infestation by Loxothylacus texanus was encountered in C. sapidus. -from Authors
