I picked Neotrypaea californiensis, or bay ghost shrimp, because I often buy them for bait from a local fishing shop. These ghost shrimp are a very good bait for local marine fish. Externally, they have legs for walking on the sea floor and to help burrow themselves into the sand. They range from different shades of pink and orange. Some are very pale, becoming almost white in color. Ghost shrimp have one enlarged claw, used to fight predators and also to help kill prey. Sometimes, this one claw can be more than half their body size. Their tail consists of six segmented sections. Underneath these segments is where females carry eggs. Internally, they have organelles. They contain a heart, a stomach, a ventral nerve cord, a sperm duct, intestine,…show more content… This allows them to keep burrowing and looking for food istead of making their way back through the burrow to breathe. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, "Neotrypaea californiensis is found along the coast in wet, muddy areas from Baja to Alaska". Ghost shrimp burrow themselves in the sand and catch plankton in the process. Tiny hairs on the shrimps legs catch plankton from the water passing(Astle S.; V. Hosford and D. Ramirez 2011). When a male ghost shrimp finds a female carrying eggs, temporary mate guarding occurs. Temporary mate guarding is when a male follows a female around protecting her from predators. Once the female molts, the two shrimp mate and the male leaves to go protect another female who has not yet molted so that he can mate again. For three to five months, the female will carry those eggs before they hatch. Once hatched, Zoea(new ghost shrimp) will act as zooplankton floating with the current. Generally, ghost shrimp are less mobile in colder waters and ability to burrow is effected by how sandy an area is(Astle S.; V. Hosford and D. Ramirez 2011). Ghost shrimp cannot move very fast so whenever there is a sudden change in temperature or ph, they adapt to it and
