HAYNES; KING CRAB LARVAE IN THE BERING SEA 



the northwest toward the open sea (Figure 3). Too 

 few samples were taken in the Unimak Island 

 area after May to determine the extent of the 

 drift of larvae. 



The four zoeal stages that king crab larvae pass 



Figure 8. — Percentages of four zoeal stages of king crab larvae 

 sampled at stations in the southeastern Bering Sea, 1969 and 

 1970. Data for 1969 and 1970 combined by semimonthly 

 periods (see Figures 3 to 7). 



through before molting to the glaucothoe (settling) 

 stage were all represented in my samples (Table 

 1). The percentage of larvae in each zoeal stage is 

 shown by semimonthly intervals in Figure 8. A 

 comparison of this figure with Figures 1 to 7 

 shows that the progression of larval stages 

 corresponded closely with the seasonal progres- 

 sion of larval distribution. For instance, the 

 abundant larvae found early in the season off 

 Unimak Island and Port Moller were mostly 

 stage I. As the areas of greatest abundance moved 

 toward the head of the bay, the percentage of later 

 larval stages in the samples increased, and by 

 July most of the larvae were stage IV (Figure 8). 



LARVAL RELEASE AREAS 



Areas of relatively high abundance of stage I 

 larvae are generally assumed to be the areas 

 where the larvae were released by the female. 

 This proved to be true in the present study: stage 

 I larvae were abundant near Unimak Island 

 and the Black Hills-Port Moller area where 

 female king crabs with empty egg cases were also 

 abundant (Figure 9). (The egg cases remain 

 attached to the pleopods of the female for some 

 time after the larvae have been released.) The 



I 70° 



c<C-^ 



0,^" 



— 58° 



<? 



«=e. 



—56° 



17 0° 



A 

 J 



N 



50 



=1= 



100 



— 1— 



KM 



150 



165° 



O 



o 



* BLACK HILLS-' |/ '^ 



pN 



.cv 



f\C 



OC 



O 



e 



160° 



L 



56° 



Figure 9. — Trawling stations (circles) in the southeastern Bering Sea where female king crabs were taken in May 

 1969 and 1970. Stations with crabs with empty egg cases are designated by solid circles. 



811 



