Biofouling of the barnacle, Chelonibita patula (Ranzani) on two portunid crabs, Callinectes amnicola (De Rocheburne) and Portunus validus (Herklots) off Lagos Coast, Nigeria.

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Date
2010
Authors
Lawal-Are, A. O.
Daramola, T. O.
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Abstract
The frequency and distribution of barnacle (Chelonibia patula) on two economically important crabs Callinectes amnicola and Portunus validus off Lagos Coast were studied. A total of 200 crabs were examined and were of the same size range. The carapace width of C. amnicola ranged from 10.4cm to 13.4cm (carapace length 6.2 - 8.6cm) and weighed 98.0g to 168.5g. P. validus had carapace width of 10.4cm to 13.2cm (carapace length 6.2 - 8.5cm) and weighed 102.0g to 153.0g. C. patula was the only ectosymbiont on the crabs examined. The barnacles were attached to the carapace, abdomen and walking legs. The distribution, size and abundance of barnacles on the crabs were independent of the size of the crabs and were similar in both crab species. The number of barnacles on each crab varied from one to thirty-one. There was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the occurrence of barnacles on C. amnicola and P. validus. The condition factor was similar but quite low in both crab species with range of 2.59 to 4.76 (mean 3.49) in C. amnicola and 2.44 to 4.82 (mean 3.38) in P. validus.
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Keywords
Bio-fouling , Barnacles , Portunids , independent , Lagos Coast , occurrence
Citation
Authors Aderonke Omolara Lawal-Are, Temitayo Oluwaseun Daramola Publication date 2010 Journal European Journal of Scientific Research Volume 44 Issue 3 Pages 520-526. Cited by 5