Breeding Cycle of Thalamita crenata (Latreille, 1829) at Gazi Creek (Maftaha Bay), Kenya
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Date
2002Author
Sigana, Dorcus Onyango
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
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Thalamita crenata (Latreille, 1829) is a crustacean decapod that occurs in inter- and
sub-tidal environments in the main water channels of the eastern Africa coast. The sandy pools
at Gazi creek are areas for artisanal crab fishery. For this study, crabs were collected during low
tide from April 1990–March 1991, sexed and measured (carapace width). Females were examined
for ovary maturity which was recorded in four classes. It was found that there was no significant
difference in male to female ratio between months (c2 = 16.83; d.f.= 11; P > 0.05), but the
overall sex ratio was significantly different from 1:1 (c2 = 19.577; d.f.= 1; P < 0.05). Size
heterogeneity between sexes was also significantly different (c2 = 112.2; d.f. = 12; P < 0.05).
The existence of continuous breeding was inferred from the percentage of ovigerous female
crabs. In addition, the relative abundance of ovigerous female crabs in relation to carapace
width, percentage frequency of maturity stages of all mature female crabs as well as the mean
monthly carapace width of all female crabs obtained during the study period was also taken
into account.
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