Summary: | The abundance of juvenile blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico was investigated in response to climate-related hydrological regimes. Two distinct periods of blue crab abundance (1, 1973–94 and 2, 1997–2005) were associated with two opposite climaterelatedhydrological regimes. Period 1 was characterized by high numbers of crabs, whereas period 2 was characterizedby low numbers of crabs. The cold phase of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and high north-south wind momentum were associated with period 1. Hydrologicalconditions associated with phases of the AMO and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in conjunction with thenorth-south wind momentum may favor blue crab productivity by influencing blue crab predation dynamics through the exclusion of predators. About 25% (22–28%) of the variability in blue crab abundance was explained by a north–south wind momentum in concert with either salinity, precipitation, or the Palmer drought severity index, or by a combination of the NAO and precip
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