Fecundity and fertility of Macrobrachium amazonicum (Crustacea, Palaemonidae)

Abstract

In Brazil, studies with native freshwater prawn species were discontinued due to great importance of Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Therefore, it is necessary to continue investigations about our species, in order to develop technology adequate to our reality and in a future allow prawn farmers to culture other species. The aim of this study was to determine the fecundity and fertility of Macrobrachium amazonicum captured monthly from June 1999 to June 2001 from Jaguaribe River, Itaiçaba, Ceará, Brazil. Prawns were collected using fishing net and transferred at Biological Science Laboratory, Ceara State University (Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil). Among the ovigerous M. amazonicum females, 60 were randomly selected to determine fecundity. The eggs adhered to the pleopods were taken out and they were then placed in a Gilson solution, and then stored in alcohol 70%. Individual fecundity was determined from the total egg counting, using a stereoscopic microscope. To determine fertility, ovigerous M. amazonicum females were stored in individual 10 L-glass tanks maintained under strong aeration. After the hatching, the larvae were siphoned and counted. The data referring to total length and weight of all the females, storage date, coloration and number of eggs, weight and coloration of gonad and number of hatched larvae were noted. With respect to average fecundity (F) by length classes, the lowest and highest number of eggs observed was 696 and 1,554, respectively. As for fecundity by weight classes, the lowest number of eggs observed was 760 and the highest, 1,690. The highest number of eggs observed individually per hatching was 2,193. Average fecundity/total length (L) and average fecundity/total weight (W) may be expressed by a linear relationship. The adjusted equations are: F = -411.6 + 203.1 L (p < 0.0001) and F = 566.4 + 157.3 W (p < 0.0001), respectively. In the analysis of average fertility (N) per length classes, the lowest and highest number of larvae observed was 374 and 1,301, respectively. With respect to fertility per weight classes, the lowest number of larvae was 581 and the highest, 1,391. In this work, the maximum number of larvae observed per hatching for females kept in laboratory was 2,594. Average fertility/total length and average fertility/total weight may be expressed by a linear relationship. The adjusted equations are: N = -1042.7 + 264.9 L (p < 0.0002); N = 384.1 + 160.3 W (p < 0.003). From these results we can deduced that fecundity and fertility of M. amazonicum are lower than ones commercial species, never-the-less it can be captured during all year long. The number of captured prawns was large in the months whose level of water was low; the inverse was observed in the months that the river was with a high volume of water.

Reproductive biology of Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller, 1862) (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) in a reservoir situated in Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil

“…The number of eggs is highly variable in individuals of the same species, but increases in quantity with female size. Thus, a larger abdomen size implies in a greater accommodation of eggs in pleopods (Valenti, 1984;Silva et al, 2004). This positive correlation was observed in this study and in several others with M. amazonicum (Silva et al, 2004;Silva, 2006;Oliveira, 2010;Hayd & Anger, 2013;Meireles et al, 2013).…”

“…However, Lucena-Frédou et al (2010) in Combu Island (PA) observed absolute fecundity ranging from 40 to 3,375 eggs/female, with a mean value of 905 ± 590 SD eggs/female. Da Silva et al (2004), found average values between 696 (females with 5.0 to 5.5 cm total length) and 1554 eggs/female (9.5 to 10.0 cm).…”

“…According to Odinetz-Collart & Rabelo (1996), egg size increases as the distance from the ocean also increases. Fecundity is related to several factors and may be proportional to female body size (Silva et al, 2004), to length and volume of abdomen (Corey & Reid, 1991), to length of pleopods, to rate mortality of eggs (Annala, 1991) and to female age (Sastry, 1983).…”

Population structure and fecundity in Uca virens Salmon y Atsaides, 1968 (Decapoda: Ocypodidae) in southern Tamiahua Lagoon, Veracruz, Mexico

“…Santos (1978) defined fecundity as the number of eggs laid by one female per spawning. However, Bond & Buckup (1982) defined fecundity as the number of eggs per spawning that was found adhered to the female pleopods (Da Silva et al, 2004). When estimating the reproductive potential and future stock size of a given species or population, the fecundity is an important parameter (Mori et al, 1998;Hattori & Pinheiro, 2003).…”

Distribution and abundance of freshwater decapods in an Atlantic rainforest catchment with a dammed future

“…Freshwater decapod crustaceans are a group of high ecological and economic importance (Silva et al, 2004;Almeida et al, 2008). Shrimps and crabs play important ecological roles in streams, processing allochthonous matter by ingestion and bioturbation (March et al, 2001;Souza and Moulton, 2005).…”