Reproductive biology of female blue swimmer crabs in the temperate estuaries of south-eastern Australia
Samuel E. F. Nolan
A D , Daniel D. Johnson B , Roshan Hanamseth A , Iain M. Suthers A C and Matthew D. Taylor A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia.
B Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Taylors Beach Road, Taylors Beach, NSW 2316, Australia.
C Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, NSW 2088, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: samuelenolan@gmail.com
Marine and Freshwater Research 73(3) 366-376 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF21191
Submitted: 25 June 2021 Accepted: 8 November 2021 Published: 2 December 2021
Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2021 Open Access CC BY
Abstract
The blue swimmer crab (BSC, Portunus armatus) is an economically and culturally important species distributed throughout the coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific region. Reproduction of BSC is poorly understood in south-eastern Australia, a region that is experiencing substantial tropicalisation from global warming. We examined gonadal development, egg–mass relationships, and the influence of temperature on gonadal development and egg production within five different estuaries spanning ~2.5° of latitude. A negative correlation between the gonadosomatic index (GSI, an index of gonadal development and reproductive investment) and hepatosomatic index (HSI, an index of energy storage) was observed in only the final stages of ovarian development. The weight of the egg mass increased logarithmically with body mass, accounting for up to 55% of total body mass, which was significantly larger than observed in other studies. Thermal performance curves showed a peak in individual reproductive output at a mean monthly temperature of ~24°C, at which the individual egg mass weight reached a maximum and the HSI reached a minimum. Environmentally driven variation in BSC reproduction has implications for population productivity and inter-annual variation in recruitment.
Keywords: Portunidae, reproduction, egg production, fecundity, fisheries, allometry.
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