Spatial structure and morphometric relationships of the deep-sea shrimp Solenocera acuminata (Decapoda, Solenoceridae) in the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

Given the potential interest in targeting Solenocera acuminata in a new deep-sea fishery in the Colombian Caribbean, biological information is needed to support the management of this species. The objective of this study is to provide biological information about size structure, size at sexual maturity, morphometric relationships, abundances and spatial and bathymetric distribution of S. acuminata in the Colombian Caribbean. Specimens of S. acuminata were collected during four deep-sea prospecting surveys in the Colombian Caribbean Sea, which were conducted between Punta Gallinas and the Gulf of Uraba. A total of 87 exploratory fishing trawls were made between 100 and 550 m depth. Sexual dimorphism was evident, with males being smaller than females. The size at sexual maturity of the females was 95.2 mm total length (23.82 mm CL). Relatively high biomass values were found in the northern zone of the Colombian Caribbean, between Santa Marta and Riohacha. In the southern zone, higher biomass was found between Cartagena and Morrosquillo Gulf. The biomass of S. acuminata was higher at night (mean 1.82 kg/km2) than during daylight (mean 0.15 kg/km2). This species was distributed between 150 and 400 m depth and the highest biomass was associated with depths between 330 and 380 m. Before starting a new fishery, more research is needed to understand the life cycle parameters of deep-sea resources, such as growth, reproduction, recruitment, mortality, spawning areas and times, nursery areas and associated biodiversity.

Morphometric Differentiation of the Swimming Crab Portunus sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783) Populations in East Asia: Implications for Stock Identification and Management

“…In marine population assessments, morphological evaluations are instrumental in discerning between groups. Yet, challenges such as sexual dimorphism, sampling intervals, and allometric growth can introduce complexities [2,[7][8][9][10][11]. This investigation took rigorous measures to address these variabilities, standardizing size, synchronizing sample collections, and introducing gender-based statistical assessments.…”

“…A hierarchical clustering analysis, culminating in a dendrogram encompassing eight specific samples, was meticulously executed employing the UPGMA. This approach incorporated the application of Mahalanobis distances ascertained between the centroids of various populations to facilitate a comprehensive evaluation of the similarity metrics underlying the samples in question [10,11,14,15,20,52,53]. The preference for the Mahalanobis distance as the metric of choice was justified by its inherent property of invariance with respect to discrepancies in variable scaling [54].…”

“…Furthermore, the canonical variate analysis (CVA)-a sophisticated linear ordination methodology-was systematically employed to enable distinction amongst the samples. The determination of the canonical vectors was predicated on the formulation of linear coefficients, ascertained through the maximization of the ratio juxtaposing inter-group to intra-group variance [10,11,14,15,20,55]. Subsequent to the execution of the CVA, a graphical representation was constructed by plotting the primary pair of canonical scores.…”

“…Variations in morphological characteristics can serve as an analytical tool to investigate the distinctions among geographically disparate populations; this methodology has also been employed to ascribe various genetic configurations or environmental circumstances to individual geographic locales [2]. Prior investigations have evidenced that fluctuations in environmental conditions precipitate alterations in population organization, encompassing morphological heterogeneity [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. From a historical standpoint, methodical observations have elucidated that geographical phenomena wield a more substantial impact on the dispersal patterns of marine species relative to their terrestrial analogs [12].…”

Size Distribution, Length-Weight Relationship, and Size at Morphometric Maturity of the Mud Spiny Lobster Panulirus polyphagus (Herbst, 1793) in the Johor Strait

“…The same criterion as earlier studies should be used in a future study to allow an accurate comparison of the estimated size at sexual maturity for a designated species from a specific location. In addition, it is also worth exploring other morphological characters that are proven to be useful in estimating morphometric size at sexual maturity in other shrimp or lobster species, such as the abdominal segment length (Cusba and Páramo, 2017;Pacheco et al, 2021).…”