FISHERY BULLETIN; VOL 69. NO. 2 



Table 1. — Month of capture, range and mean number of eggs for each 5-mm carapace length group for the 196 



offshore female lobsters. 



Table 2. — Raw sums, sums of squares, sums of cross products, and regression equations derived from transformed 

 data on carapace lengths and numbers of eggs from 196 berried female lobsters captured during October, April, 

 and June. (X = loge carapace length, Y ^ lege number of eggs.) 



Month 



October 



April 



Juno 



75 

 59 

 62 



ZX 



IX' 



lY 



ZY' 



Regression equation 

 (K = a+bX) 



342.8625 

 279.4272 

 301 .6997 



1568.1306 

 1324.7648 

 1471.6059 



737.7546 

 595.6230 

 640.9857 



Y = -5.0202-|-3.2499(X) 



Y = -3.2280+2.8132(.V) 

 f = -5.0231-f3.1569(A-) 



The regression lines were all significantly dif- 

 ferent (P < 0.01) in level (F intercept) from 

 each other. No significant difl"erence was found 

 in the slope of any of the lines, indicating egg 

 loss is consistent between extrusion and hatch- 

 ing from females of all sizes. The average total 

 loss from extrusion to hatching throughout the 

 size range of the females studied was S&'^r , and 

 the average loss during the last few months 

 (April through June) was IS*"!. 



The eggs obtained in October were all in pre- 

 naupliar condition (Templeman, 1940) and were 

 judged to be no more than 4 weeks in age. Those 

 eggs obtained in June were all within a month 

 of hatching. Twenty-four berried females, 

 caught in June, were kept in laboratory tanks 

 where all egg hatching was completed by the 



middle of July. Eggs taken in April showed less 

 development than those taken in June, and 12 

 females kept in the laboratory tanks from the 

 April samples completed hatching by the first 

 of July. Water temperatures in the laboratory 

 during April and May were slightly higher than 

 would be expected in the offshore waters for 

 the same period. 



The offshore waters where the lobsters are 

 found undergo no great seasonal temperature 

 fluctuations (Colton et al, 1968) typical of the 

 coastal waters of New England. I have exam- 

 ined over 500 berried females from the offshore 

 area and conclude that extrusion of eggs occurs 

 in September and October, and that hatching 

 occurs the following June or July. I have found 

 no deviation from this pattern; however, slight 



452 



