PARSONS and TUCKER: FECUNDITY OF NORTHERN SHRIMP 



duce around 2,800 eggs compared with 1,900-2,000 

 in the Cartwright Channel (2°-3°C). In the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence, temperatures were similar to those 

 in the Gulf of Maine but fecundity in 1970 (E. J. 

 Sandeman 4 unpubl. data) was comparable with 

 levels observed in the colder Labrador channels. 

 Allen (1959) reported smaller shrimp and fewer eggs 

 for P. borealis in the North Sea (~9°C) compared 

 with the colder area off Southern Norway (7°C). 



CONCLUSIONS 



Fecundity of Pandalus borealis in the areas of the 

 Northwest Atlantic considered in this study was 

 generally lower than observed previously in the Gulf 

 of Maine (Haynes and Wigley 1969) and off South- 

 ern Norway (Rasmussen 1953). Fecundity can vary 

 seasonally, annually, and between areas, making 

 conclusions based on such data difficult. Skuladot- 

 tir et al. (1978) concluded that fecundity does not 

 seem to be a useful characteristic for distinguishing 

 between populations unless it is certain that no egg 

 loss or hatching has taken place. The results of the 

 present study concur with these findings and those 

 of Teigsmark (1983) which also showed that annual 

 variation within areas also must be considered. 



In some comparisons between areas, there ap- 

 pears to be reduced egg production in areas with 

 low environmental temperature. In others, this is 

 not at all apparent, especially at extremely cold and 

 warm temperatures. Thus, there is no clear relation- 

 ship between fecundity and environmental temper- 

 ature, especially at the extremes of the range of 

 temperature tolerance. 



Squires (1968) described warm water areas as 

 areas of high reproductive potential for shrimp and 

 colder regions as areas of low reproductive poten- 

 tial. The cold water bays of Newfoundland and the 

 eastern Hudson Strait fit into the latter category 

 in terms of shrimp fecundity. Other cold water con- 

 centrations of shrimp appear to be better adapted 

 such as those off Baffin Island, in the North Lab- 

 rador Sea and Sea of Japan. In these cases, en- 

 vironmental conditions other than temperature 

 (e.g., availability of nutrients) may be more impor- 

 tant. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



We are grateful to the many technicians and 



4 E. J. Sandeman, Fisheries Research Branch, Department of 

 Fisheries and Oceans, P.O. Box 5667, St. John's, Newfoundland 

 A1C 5X1, Canada. 



casual employees who assisted in collecting the data 

 over the years and performed the laborious task of 

 counting the eggs. In this regard, the services of 

 W. Edison are particularly appreciated. Assistance 

 in the statistical analyses was provided by D. 

 Stansbury. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Allen, J. A. 



1959. On the biology of Pandalus borealis Kr^yer, with 

 reference to a population off the Northumberland coast. 

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 Berenboim, B. I. 



1982. Reproduction of the shrimp Pandalus borealis popula- 

 tions in the Barents Sea. Okeanologiya 22(1):118-124. 

 Butler, T. H. 



1971. A review of the biology of the pink shrimp, Pandalus 

 borealis Krtfyer 1838. Can. Fish. Rep. 17:17-24. 

 Couture, R. 



1970. Reproduction de Pandalus borealis Krtfyer (Crustacea, 

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 826. 

 Dupouy, H., C. Leroy, and J. Frechette. 



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 Haynes, E. B., and A. L. Wigley. 



1969. Biology of the northern shrimp Pandalus borealis in 

 the Gulf of Maine. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 98:60-76. 

 Horsted, Sv. Aa., and E. Smidt. 



1956. The deep sea prawn (Pandalus borealis Kr.) in Green- 

 land waters. Meddelelser fra Danmarks Fiskeri-og Havun- 

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 Ito, H. 



1976. Some findings concerning Pandalus borealis Kr^yer 

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 Rasmussen, B. 



1953. On the geographical variation in growth and sexual 

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1969. Variations in protandric hermaphroditism of Pandalus 

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Skuladottir, U., E. Jonsson, and I. Hallgrimsson. 



1978. Testing for heterogeneity of Pandalus borealis popula- 

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Squires, H. J. 



1968. Relation of temperature to growth and self-propogation 

 of Pandalus borealis in Newfoundland. FAO Fish. Rep. 

 57:243-250. 



1970. Decapod crustaceans of Newfoundland, Labrador and 

 the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Fish. Res. Board Can., 

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Stickney, A. P. 



1981. Laboratory studies on the development and survival 

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 Rep. 81-3. 



Stickney, A. P., and H. C. Perkins. 



1979. Environmental physiology of northern shrimp, Pan- 

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