Abstract
Larval release, hatching rhythms and moult patterns were examined in a captive population of the subantarctic lithodid, Paralomis spinosissima from the South Georgia and Shag Rocks region. Larvae hatched throughout the year with the majority of females starting to release larvae at the end of the austral summer and beginning of autumn. Larval release continued over a period of up to 9 weeks with high variability in the numbers that hatched each day. A similar seasonal pattern to hatching was evident in the moulting of females. Intermoult period for two adult females (CL = 63 and 85 mm) ranged from 894 to 1,120 days while an intermoult period for males was estimated to be in excess of 832 days. The results are consistent with other species of Paralomis and are discussed in relation to physiological and environmental adaptations to the cold-water conditions south of the Antarctic Convergence.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the biological research teams at King Edward Point, who have kept the crab-rearing programme going for the last 5 years, and to the observers working on South Georgia’s fisheries, for continually bringing us samples. This work was carried out at the British Antarctic Survey, Applied Fisheries Laboratory at King Edward Point, South Georgia, under contract to the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Thanks are due to Gustavo Lovrich and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript.
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Reid, W.D.K., Watts, J., Clarke, S. et al. Egg development, hatching rhythm and moult patterns in Paralomis spinosissima (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea: Lithodidae) from South Georgia waters (Southern Ocean). Polar Biol 30, 1213–1218 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0279-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0279-x