Reproductive Cycle and Fecundity of Primiparous and Multiparous Female Snow Crab, Chionoecetes opilio, in the Northwest Gulf of Saint Lawrence

A total of 1 691 mature female Chionoecetes opilio was collected by beam trawl in Baie Sainte-Marguerite on seven occasions from April 1991 to May 1992. Quantitative analyses of ovaries, brood, eggs, and spermathecal contents were performed on a subsample of 318 females. Females moulted to maturity in March and April. Development of ovaries and brood were phased and lasted 24–27 mo. Eggs hatched mainly from April to June. Spermathecae contained zero to three ejaculates, and the mean blotted weight of freshly deposited ejaculates was significantly greater in primiparous (0.513 g) than in multiparous (0.249 g) females. The weight of stored ejaculates decreased over time independently of spawning events. Fecundity was correlated positively with carapace width and negatively with mean egg diameter. Eggs of primiparous females were on average 1.4–2.7% larger, but 16.4–22.7% fewer per brood, than those of multiparous females. Some large multiparous females had small broods, due possibly to lesser fertility. Fem...

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