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Population dynamics and growth of juveniles of the velvet swimming crab Necora puber (Decapoda: Portunidae)

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Abstract

Recruitment variability plays a critical role in determining local population densities of benthic organisms, but extreme vulnerability at the onset of juvenile life is a trait that is largely responsible for population survivorship trends. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of juvenile recruitment in the population structure of Necora puber. Juveniles of N. puber were collected from the lower intertidal of rocky shores of Plymouth Sound (southwest coast of the UK) and monthly size–frequency distribution were used to determine the dynamics and the growth of the population. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth function were estimated (K=0.281 year−1; t 0=0.043; C=0.103; and t s=0.268) assuming a L ∞=105 mm. Growth was markedly seasonal and present results indicated a slower juvenile growth rate than described previously for N. puber. The recruitment period was extensive and was two times higher in 2001 than in 2000 at the start of the 1+ year, but levelled off at the end of the 1+ year class on three of the four shores studied. Instantaneous mortality as high as 5.1 year−1(99.4% year−1) was observed during the higher recruitment year. Early juvenile mortality appears to be density dependent and a demographic bottleneck appears to limit the number of juveniles on some shores.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by a CNPq (Brazil) (process no. 200840/98-3) studentship to J.T. Lee. The authors are also grateful to Richard Ticehurst and Ann Torr for assistance during sampling.

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  1. Ross A. Coleman

    Present address: Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities, Marine Ecology Laboratories A11, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth , UK

    James T. Lee, Ross A. Coleman & Malcolm B. Jones

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  1. James T. Lee
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Correspondence to Ross A. Coleman.

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Communicated by J. P. Thorpe, Port Erin

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Lee, J.T., Coleman, R.A. & Jones, M.B. Population dynamics and growth of juveniles of the velvet swimming crab Necora puber (Decapoda: Portunidae). Marine Biology 148, 609–619 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-0107-1

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