Title: Annual variation in egg production in a Newfoundland population of the American lobster, Homarus americanus
Abstract: Estimates of the number of eggs produced annually in a Newfoundland population of the American lobster for the 11-year period 1976-86 ranged from 7.4 × 106 to 86.8 × 106. Year to year fluctuations in egg production coincided with fluctuations in the estimated number of ovigerous females in the population, which was linked to annual variation in numbers entering the prerecruit and recruit portions of the population. Prerecruit females (< 81 mm carapace length) contributed from 26 to 58% of the total annual egg production. Among prerecruit females 71 to 80 mm CL, the percentage ovigerous ranged from 6.6 to 41.2 ( x ¯ = 24.1 ) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003072560/beaad213-a3d4-4805-9fed-530785fa42c1/content/eq18.tif"/> ; among females ≥ 81 mm it ranged from 4.1 to 22.8 ( x ¯ = 8.6 ) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003072560/beaad213-a3d4-4805-9fed-530785fa42c1/content/eq19.tif"/> in different years. There was a significant correlation between egg production and the percentage of ovigerous females. For both the prerecruit and recruit size groups there were significant negative correlations between the percentage molting during the summer and the percentage of ovigerous females in autumn. There was a significant negative correlation between standing stock estimates for the population and percentage molting, and a significant positive correlation resulted between standing stock and percentage of ovigerous females. Percentage molting appears to be influenced by population density and a reduced percentage molting leads to an increased percentage laying eggs. Fluctuations in the abundance of females and in the percentage of them that laid eggs accounted for most of the annual variation in egg production in this lobster population.
Publication Year: 2020
Publication Date: 2020-10-13
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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