Size Composition, Growth Pattern and Sexual Maturity of the Blue Crab, Callinectes amnicola (De Rocheburne, 1883) in three interconnecting tropical lagoons.
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Date
2011
Authors
Lawal-Are, A. O.
Kusemiju, K.
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Abstract
The size composition, growth pattern, sex ratio and gonadal stages of Callinectes amnicola (De Rocheburne) in three interconnecting tropical lagoons were investigated over 18 months. The major ecological variable in the lagoons was salinity. The crabs exhibited negative allometric growth. The largest sized crabs were obtained in the freshwater Lekki Lagoon. The males were significantly more abundant than the females in the freshwater Lekki Lagoon while the sex ratio was nearly 1:1 in the brackish Badagry and Lagos Lagoons. Five stages of gonadal maturity were recorded for both males and females in the three lagoons. Fecund females carrying eggs underside of the abdomen were obtained only in the high brackish water Lagos Lagoon. The salinity gradient and occurrence of the blue crab throughout the year in the three interconnecting lagoons makes them a suitable environment for completion of its life history in the lagoons.
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Keywords
Salinity, size, growth, gonadal stages.