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Length and age at maturity of Antarctic krill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2004

V. Siegel  and
V. Loeb
V. Siegel
Affiliation:
Institut für Seefischerei, Palmaille 9, 2000 Hamburg 50, Germany Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, P.O.Box 450, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA
V. Loeb
Affiliation:
Institut für Seefischerei, Palmaille 9, 2000 Hamburg 50, Germany Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, P.O.Box 450, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA
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Abstract

Data from several summer research cruises in the Antarctic Peninsula region were analysed to calculate length (L50) and age at maturity for the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. Length at maturity L50 is defined as the length at which 50% of the krill stock attains sexual maturity. L50 values of 34.65–35.91 mm for female krill are the best estimates for the peak spawning season. Males attain sexual maturity later at L50 values of 43.35–43.71 mm. Length at maturity and length at first spawning are identical for krill. Comparisons with mean length-at-age data show that females mature in the third growth season (age class 2+), while males reach maturity in the fourth year (age class 3+). Both sexes show ‘knife-edge maturity’.

Keywords

krillpopulation dynamics
Type
Papers—Life Sciences and Oceanography
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 1994 , pp. 479 - 482
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 1994

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