Differences in the timing of egg extrusion and reproductive investment between primiparous and multiparous females of the southern king crab Lithodes santolla

COLOMBO JULIA; BLANDI AYELEN; LÉRTORA PABLO; VARISCO MARTIN

MARINE BIOLOGY RESEARCH

TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2022

1745-1000

This study analysed differences in the timing of egg extrusion, reproductive investment andspatial distribution between primiparous and multiparous females of the southern king crab(SKC) Lithodes santolla. Early publications had reported that, in the San Jorge Gulf (SJG; 45?47°S), Argentina, SKCs mated annually, mainly in December. In this work, in coastal areas ofSJG, we found small females in postmoult with recently extruded eggs in September?October. At the same time, one SKC female fraction was in intermoult with eggs close tohatching. Evidence suggests that females with recently extruded eggs were primiparous,while females with eggs close to hatching were multiparous. Primiparous females were lessfecund than multiparous females of the same size, but no differences were found in the eggdry mass between these female fractions. The size-frequency distribution observed suggestsa spatial segregation between primiparous and multiparous females, with the former beingconcentrated in the coastal areas of SJG. Differences in reproductive traits betweenprimiparous and multiparous females have been widely reported in crab species withdeterminate growth, but rarely in crabs with indeterminate growth as lithodids.