Reproductive strategies of sub-Antarctic lithodid crabs vary with habitat depth

We present the first fecundity and egg size data for three species of lithodid crab from Antarctic waters south of the Polar Front, caught in the fisheries operating around the island of South Georgia. In all species, fecundity was observed to increase with body size, but reproductive allocation was...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar biology 2006-06, Vol.29 (7), p.581-584
Main Authors: MORLEY, S. A, BELCHIER, M, DICKSON, J, MULVEY, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal reproduction
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Body size
Body weight
Crustacea
Crustaceans
Decapoda
Ecological adaptation
Eggs
Fecundity
Fish
Food availability
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics
Invertebrates
Neolithodes diomedeae
Paralomis spinosissima
Particular ecosystems
Synecology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We present the first fecundity and egg size data for three species of lithodid crab from Antarctic waters south of the Polar Front, caught in the fisheries operating around the island of South Georgia. In all species, fecundity was observed to increase with body size, but reproductive allocation was found to differ significantly between species. The highest relative fecundity (eggs^sup -g^body weight) and smallest egg size was found in Paralomis spinosissima, which is found in shallower waters, whereas the lowest relative fecundity values and largest eggs were recorded in the deeper living species, Neolithodes diomedeae. Evidence is presented that closely related sympatric species may employ quite different reproductive strategies that suit their depth distribution whilst indicating the overriding evolutionary adaptation of reproductive traits to temperature and food availability.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0722-4060
1432-2056
DOI:10.1007/s00300-005-0091-4