Journal of Environmental Biology

Population biology and feeding habits of the nephropid lobster
Metanephrops thomsoni (Bate, 1888) in the East China Sea

Jung Hwa Choi^*1, Jung Nyun Kim¹, Mi Hyang Kim², Dae Soo Chang¹, Joon Taek Yoo³ and Jin Koo Kim¹

¹Fisheries Resources Research Team, National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Busan 619-705, Korea
²Marine Eco-Technology Institute, Busan 608-804, Korea
³Jeju Fisheries Research Institute, National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Jeju 690-190, Korea

(Received: February 22, 2007; Revised received: December 19, 2007;  Accepted: December 26, 2007)

Abstract: Population biology and feeding habits of the nephropid lobster Metanephrops thomsoni (Bate) was studied from a field survey sampled with bottom trawls in the East China Sea. The female/male ratio was 1.06:1. Three size-class groups were discriminated for both sexes, which may correspond to one to three year-old cohorts. The average stage fecundity was 471 in each brood. Larger than two-year-size-class females are multi broods during the breeding season. Gut analysis showed that this lobster is a common carnivore and mainly consume crustaceans and fishes, regardless of sex and carapace length size.

Key words: Metanephrops thomsoni, Population biology, Feeding habitats, East China Sea

PDF of full length paper is available with author (choijh@momaf.go.kr)

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