POWELL, JAMES, and HURD: MATING ABILITY OF MALE KING CRAB 



favorable male-female ratio exists, because all 

 males are either preoccupied grasping other 

 females or resting between subsequent matings. 



King crabs segregate to varying degrees 

 according to size, sex. age, and time of year. Com- 

 mercial fishing is concentrated in areas inhabited 

 by large males with total effort varying accord- 

 ing to factors such as accessibility. Thus crop- 

 ping of males may be excessive in one area but 

 not in another. Incidence of nonovigerous adult 

 females is lowest in areas where sublegal sized 

 males are abundant, but is often high in ex- 

 ploited areas with few adult males (unpublished, 

 Alaska Dept. Fish & Game). 



Size differences between partners, presence 

 of competing males, and time of year also must 

 be considered in evaluating the reproductive 

 potential of mating populations. 



It is conceivable that even with many young 

 adult males present, a population of large old 

 females may be inadequately serviced partly 

 because the few surviving large males may, 

 through aggressive behavior, keep smaller 

 males away. To what extent competitive be- 

 havior exists is presently unknown but large 

 old males commonly are found mating small 

 young females in nature. Of the 14 matings in 

 this experiment, where females were larger 

 than males, 79 percent produced partial 

 clutches. 



Small males probably produce less reproduc- 

 tive material (sperm) than large males, and as 

 a result, may be less capable of fertilizing the 

 greater masses of eggs of large females. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Gray.G. W., Jr. 



1965. Tags for marking king crabs. Prog.-Fish Cult. 

 27:22 1-227. 



Gray, G. W., Jr., and G. C. Powell. 



1966. Sex ratios and distribution of spawning king 

 crabs in Alitak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska (Deca- 

 poda. Anomura. Lithodidae). Crustaceana 10:303- 

 309. 



Haynes, E. B. 



1968. Relation of fecundity and egg length to carapace 

 length in the king crab. Paralithodcs camtschuticu. 

 Proc. Natl. Shellfish. Assoc. 58:60-62. 



KURATA, H. 



1961. King crab investigations in the eastern Bering 

 Sea in 1961. (Prelim, transl.) I.N.P.F.C. (Int. North 

 Pac. Fish. Comm.) Doc. 48 1, 6 p. 



McMuLLEN, J. C. 



1969. Effects of delayed mating on the reproduction 

 of king crab, Paralithodcs camischatica. J. Fish. 

 Res. Board Can. 26:2737-2740. 



MiYAHARA, T., AND H. H. ShIPPEN. 



1965. Preliminary report of the effect of varying 

 levels of fishing on eastern Bering Sea king crabs, 

 Paralithodcs camischatica (Tilesius). Rapp. P-V. 

 Reun. Cons. Perm. Int. Explor. Mer 156:5 1-58. 



NiCKERSON, R. B.. F. J. OSSIANDER, AND G. C. PoWELL. 



1966. Change in size-class structure of populations of 

 Kodiak Island commercial male king crabs due to 

 fishing. J. Fish. Res. Board Can 23:729-736. 



Powell, G. C, and R. B. Nickerson. 



1965. Reproduction of king crabs. Paralithodcs cuini- 

 schatica (Tilesius). J. Fish. Res. BoardCan. 99: 10 1- 1 1 1 . 

 Powell, G. C, B. Shafford, and M. Jones. 



1972. Reproductive biology of young adult king 

 crabs Paralithodcs camtschatica (Tilesius) at Kodiak 

 Alaska. Proc. Natl. Shellfish. Assoc. 63:77-87. 

 Wallace, M. M.. C. J. Pertuit, and A. R. Hvatum. 



1949. Contribution to the biology of the king crab, 

 Paralithodcs camtschatica Tilesius. U.S. Fish Wild. 

 Serv., Fish. Leafl. 340, 50 p. 



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