The life history of the blue crab promotes the widespread dispersal of larvae and consequently high levels of connectivity among estuarine populations. This contrasts with the life histories of many other estuarine invertebrates, with retention of larvae within estuaries and greater self-recruitment. The average lifespan of a blue crab is approximately 3.5 years (Tagatz 1968, Millikin and Williams 1984). Sexually mature females mate once, store this sperm, and use it to fertilize up to 18 clutches (Millikin and Williams 1984, Hines et al. 2003, Dickinson et al. 2006) Each clutch can contain approximately 3.5 million eggs (Hsueh et al. 1993), although egg size, clutch volume, and the success of egg development and hatching decrease over the
