Hemolymph Ecdysone Concentration as a Function of Sexual Maturity in the Male Snow Crab ( Chionoecetes opilio )

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Main Authors: Cormier, Roland J., Fraser, Alan R., Bailey, Richard F. J., Raymond, Nicole
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1992
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Chionoecetes opilio; Snow crab
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f92-180; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f92-180

Ecdysone concentrations in the hemolymph of juvenile and morphometrically mature male snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) were determined by radioimmunoassay. A logarithmic transformation of the allometric relationship of the dry weight of the chelae versus the carapace width was used to identify morphometric maturity. Results indicate that concentrations of ecdysone found in the hemolymph of juvenile crab are higher than those found in morphometrically mature crab, thus providing a biochemical basis for the observation that the onset of sexual maturity seems to coincide with a terminal molt.