Reproductive Activities 



Tlie presence of external eggs indicates that females are mature and the size at onset of maturity can 

 be determined from the size distribution of berried females. Another method of determining female size 

 at sexual maturity was described initially by Templeman (1935) who observed that the relative width of 

 the second abdominal segment of females increased with the approach of sexual maturity. In our study 

 wc measured the second abdominal segment widths of all females, calculated the ratio of the abdominal 

 width to the carapace length, and plotted that ratio against the carapace length (Skud and Perkins 1969; 

 Krouse 1973). 



The morphometric relationship between carapace length and abdominal width for data collected from 

 1981 to 1985 is described in Figure 5. 



30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 



CARAPACE LENGTH (MMj 



Figure 5. Morphometric relationship between the ratio abdominal width/carapace length and the carapace length for 

 data collected from 1981 to 1985 for female lobsters. 

 (*) mean value for each 5 mm size; ( ) y = a + bx + cx +dx ; ( ) upper and lower 95% C.I. 



The carapace length and abdomen width increase in size proportionately up to the size at which females 

 begin to mature (about 50 mm CL for our area) after which the abdomen increases in width faster than 

 the carapace increases in length. When all females are mature (about 95 mm CL) the relationship between 

 the carapace length and the abdominal width is again proportional. In western LIS, females begin to 



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