Fecundity of the squid Loligo vulgaris, Lamarck, 1798 (Myopsida, Loliginidae) off northwest Africa

Abstract

SUMMARY: Egg dimensions were 2.0-2.2 x 1.5-1.6 mm. Potential fecundity (all oocyte stock) of mature female L. vulgaris was estimated as 28,500-74,200 oocytes, including 3,500-30,500 yolk oocytes, 1,300-8,000 of those were ripe eggs in the oviduct. Relative fecundity was 114-251 (mean 211.3, SD=48.7), the index of Potential Reproductive Investment was 0.29-0.71 (mean 0.566, SD=0.151). Ovary maturation was similar to that observed in other loliginid squid, when small protoplasmic oocytes predominate throughout the life cycle.

Age, growth, and mortality of Loligo vulgaris wild paralarvae: implications for understanding of the life cycle and longevity

“…Interestingly, these high mortality rates in paralarvae indicate that L. vulgaris should be considered within the category of species with high fecundity, according to Caddy (1996). Although this is not obvious from the numbers of ripe oocytes found in a female at any one time (Rocha & Guerra 1996), the potential fecundity of this species is much higher, ranging from 28,500 to 74,200 oocytes, when the total oocyte stock is considered (Laptikhovsky 2000). This high number of oocytes could all be spawned in different batches over the extended spawning period of the species, which shows clear signs of being an intermittent terminal spawner (Rocha & Guerra, 1996).…”

Systematic position and reproduction of squid of the genus Alloteuthis (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) in the eastern Mediterranean

“…Fecundity was estimated using methods applied previously in other squid, including species of Loliginidae (Laptikhovsky & Nigmatullin, 1993;Laptikhovsky, 2000;Laptikhovsky et al, in press). Potential fecundity (PF) was calculated as the sum of the total oocyte number in the ovary and the egg number in the oviduct.…”

Population structure, maturation and reproduction of the European squid, Loligo vulgaris, in the Central Adriatic Sea

“…Studies on the biology of this species have been done for several areas in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic (Baddyr, 1988;Mangold-Wirz, 1963;Worms, 1980;Natsukan and Komine, 1992;Coelho et al, 1994;Guerra and Rocha, 1994;Moreno et al, 1994;Arkhipkin, 1995;Raya et al, 1999;Laptikhovsky, 2000;Moreno et al, 2002). Previous investigations in the Adriatic Sea were mainly related to the distribution and analysis of trawl catches (Flamigni and Giovanardi, 1984;Mandic, 1984;Soro and Piccinetti Manfrin, 1989;Casali et al, 1998).…”