Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management
For adult snow crabs (Chionoecetes opilio), from the western Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern and western Cape Breton Island, and eastern Newfoundland, we compared morphometric, meristic, electrophoretic, and fecundity characteristics. Our morphometric, meristic, and fecundity data indicated that snow...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1985
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f85-064 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f85-064 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/f85-064 2024-06-23T07:51:51+00:00 Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management Davidson, K. Roff, J. C. Elner, R. W. 1985 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f85-064 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f85-064 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 42, issue 3, page 474-482 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 journal-article 1985 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/f85-064 2024-06-13T04:10:51Z For adult snow crabs (Chionoecetes opilio), from the western Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern and western Cape Breton Island, and eastern Newfoundland, we compared morphometric, meristic, electrophoretic, and fecundity characteristics. Our morphometric, meristic, and fecundity data indicated that snow crabs from the four areas are morphologically and biologically distinct; therefore, they represent four "phenotypic" or "biological" stocks. We propose that the differences in morphology are due largely to environmental effects on growth during juvenile stages. The electrophoretic data indicate that Newfoundland and western Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crabs differ genetically from each other and from the Cape Breton Island snow crabs; therefore, they represent two different "genetic" stocks. Eastern and western Cape Breton Island snow crabs did not exhibit electrophoretic differences and, thus, they represent a single genetic stock. Genetic exchange between Atlantic Canadian snow crab populations appears possible through larval dispersal. There is a widely different degree of resilience to exploitation and response to the same management strategy between eastern and western Cape Breton Island snow crab populations; hence, a phenotypically and/or genotypically defined stock is not necessarily a useful management tool. Stocks may be subdivided into more meaningful management units that reflect intra-stock factors such as growth and recruitment patterns. Article in Journal/Newspaper Breton Island Chionoecetes opilio Newfoundland Snow crab Canadian Science Publishing Breton Island ENVELOPE(141.383,141.383,-66.800,-66.800) Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 42 3 474 482 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
For adult snow crabs (Chionoecetes opilio), from the western Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern and western Cape Breton Island, and eastern Newfoundland, we compared morphometric, meristic, electrophoretic, and fecundity characteristics. Our morphometric, meristic, and fecundity data indicated that snow crabs from the four areas are morphologically and biologically distinct; therefore, they represent four "phenotypic" or "biological" stocks. We propose that the differences in morphology are due largely to environmental effects on growth during juvenile stages. The electrophoretic data indicate that Newfoundland and western Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crabs differ genetically from each other and from the Cape Breton Island snow crabs; therefore, they represent two different "genetic" stocks. Eastern and western Cape Breton Island snow crabs did not exhibit electrophoretic differences and, thus, they represent a single genetic stock. Genetic exchange between Atlantic Canadian snow crab populations appears possible through larval dispersal. There is a widely different degree of resilience to exploitation and response to the same management strategy between eastern and western Cape Breton Island snow crab populations; hence, a phenotypically and/or genotypically defined stock is not necessarily a useful management tool. Stocks may be subdivided into more meaningful management units that reflect intra-stock factors such as growth and recruitment patterns. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Davidson, K. Roff, J. C. Elner, R. W. |
spellingShingle |
Davidson, K. Roff, J. C. Elner, R. W. Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management |
author_facet |
Davidson, K. Roff, J. C. Elner, R. W. |
author_sort |
Davidson, K. |
title |
Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management |
title_short |
Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management |
title_full |
Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management |
title_fullStr |
Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management |
title_full_unstemmed |
Morphological, Electrophoretic and Fecundity Characteristics of Atlantic Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, and Implications for Fisheries Management |
title_sort |
morphological, electrophoretic and fecundity characteristics of atlantic snow crab, chionoecetes opilio, and implications for fisheries management |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1985 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f85-064 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f85-064 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.383,141.383,-66.800,-66.800) |
geographic |
Breton Island |
geographic_facet |
Breton Island |
genre |
Breton Island Chionoecetes opilio Newfoundland Snow crab |
genre_facet |
Breton Island Chionoecetes opilio Newfoundland Snow crab |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 42, issue 3, page 474-482 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/f85-064 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
474 |
op_container_end_page |
482 |
_version_ |
1802642992020848640 |