Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio
Morphometric measurements and gonad examination of the spider crab, Chionoecetes opilio, showed that 50% maturity occurred at about 57 and 50 mm carapace width for males and females, with minimum sizes at maturity of 51 (males) and 47 mm (females). Both sexes were mature at sizes considerably below...
Published in: | Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada |
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1970
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f70-181 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f70-181 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/f70-181 2024-06-23T07:52:05+00:00 Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio Watson, J. 1970 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f70-181 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f70-181 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada volume 27, issue 9, page 1607-1616 ISSN 0015-296X journal-article 1970 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/f70-181 2024-06-13T04:10:51Z Morphometric measurements and gonad examination of the spider crab, Chionoecetes opilio, showed that 50% maturity occurred at about 57 and 50 mm carapace width for males and females, with minimum sizes at maturity of 51 (males) and 47 mm (females). Both sexes were mature at sizes considerably below the commercially acceptable size of 4 inches (102 mm) carapace width. After maturity, positive allometric growth was demonstrated for males. Females do not moult after reaching maturity. The small vasa deferentia found in soft-shelled mature males suggested that only hard-shelled males were capable of mating. A hard-shelled male successfully mated with a soft-shelled mature female. Field and laboratory observations suggest that more than one brood is commonly produced from one mating.The minimum size limit for commercial landings allows some mature males capable of mating to be left on the fishing grounds. Retention of this limit seems unlikely to affect the breeding potential of the population. Article in Journal/Newspaper Chionoecetes opilio Canadian Science Publishing Vasa ENVELOPE(25.177,25.177,67.587,67.587) Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 27 9 1607 1616 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Morphometric measurements and gonad examination of the spider crab, Chionoecetes opilio, showed that 50% maturity occurred at about 57 and 50 mm carapace width for males and females, with minimum sizes at maturity of 51 (males) and 47 mm (females). Both sexes were mature at sizes considerably below the commercially acceptable size of 4 inches (102 mm) carapace width. After maturity, positive allometric growth was demonstrated for males. Females do not moult after reaching maturity. The small vasa deferentia found in soft-shelled mature males suggested that only hard-shelled males were capable of mating. A hard-shelled male successfully mated with a soft-shelled mature female. Field and laboratory observations suggest that more than one brood is commonly produced from one mating.The minimum size limit for commercial landings allows some mature males capable of mating to be left on the fishing grounds. Retention of this limit seems unlikely to affect the breeding potential of the population. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Watson, J. |
spellingShingle |
Watson, J. Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio |
author_facet |
Watson, J. |
author_sort |
Watson, J. |
title |
Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio |
title_short |
Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio |
title_full |
Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio |
title_fullStr |
Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio |
title_full_unstemmed |
Maturity, Mating, and Egg Laying in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio |
title_sort |
maturity, mating, and egg laying in the spider crab, chionoecetes opilio |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1970 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f70-181 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f70-181 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(25.177,25.177,67.587,67.587) |
geographic |
Vasa |
geographic_facet |
Vasa |
genre |
Chionoecetes opilio |
genre_facet |
Chionoecetes opilio |
op_source |
Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada volume 27, issue 9, page 1607-1616 ISSN 0015-296X |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/f70-181 |
container_title |
Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada |
container_volume |
27 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1607 |
op_container_end_page |
1616 |
_version_ |
1802643306811752448 |