How to translate text using browser tools
1 September 2012 Species Composition, Reproduction, and Body Size of Mud Crabs, Scylla spp., Caught in Urado Bay, Japan
Cynthia Yuri Ogawa, Katsuyuki Hamasaki, Shigeki Dan, Yasuhiro Obata, Shuichi Kitada
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Species composition, reproduction and body size of mud crabs, genus Scylla de Haan, 1833, were investigated using gill nets from October 2008 to October 2009 in Urado Bay, Japan. Three mud crab species were identified in the area, with S. paramamosain Estampador, 1949 being the dominant species (74% of the catch), followed by S. serrata (Forskål, 1775) (23%) and S. olivacea (Herbst, 1796) (3%). We found temporal changes in species composition with abundances of S. serrata increasing towards the summer season. Ovigerous females of S. paramamosain and S. olivacea occur between January and October, peaking in the warm (May-July) and rainy (June-July) seasons, but we found no berried females of S. serrata. The female-biased sex ratios of S. paramamosain and S. serrata, and the larger body size of females during the period from autumn (November) to early spring (April), suggest that large gravid females may have migrated offshore before the spawning season. The mean body size of females and males of S. paramamosain and S. serrata tended to increase and the mating activity was high between May and October, showing the moulting and growth season.

© The Crustacean Society, 2012. Published by Brill NV, Leiden
Cynthia Yuri Ogawa, Katsuyuki Hamasaki, Shigeki Dan, Yasuhiro Obata, and Shuichi Kitada "Species Composition, Reproduction, and Body Size of Mud Crabs, Scylla spp., Caught in Urado Bay, Japan," Journal of Crustacean Biology 32(5), 762-768, (1 September 2012). https://doi.org/10.1163/193724012X649787
Received: 1 March 2012; Accepted: 1 September 2012; Published: 1 September 2012
JOURNAL ARTICLE
7 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
mating
maturity
mud crabs
offshore migration
sex ratio
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top