Allometric growth in Macrobrachium borellii (Crustacea:Decapoda:Palaemonidae) a freshwater prawn from south America

COLLINS P.

Amsterdam Holanda

Congreso; 8 th International Congress on Invertebrate Reproduction and Development; 1998

International Society of Invertebrate Reproduction and Development

In decapoda, the allometric growth of several body parts is, in different ways, associated with sex and maturity. Changes may occur gradually over a series of moults,or abruptly at a single moult. Within each growth phase a pair of variables is related to an allometric equation. Sex differences were observed particularly in relation to the chelae, which in males increased more than in females. The functional significance may be understood as instrumental in territorial defence, combat, display and courtship of males. The relationships between weight and length were allometric and may be used to convert body length to weight.