A population study of Galathea intermedia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in the German Bight

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to assess population biology and dynamics of the squat lobster Galathea intermedia. On the basis of nearly regular monthly samples taken with a 2-m beam trawl in the Helgoland trench (HTR) during the period of 1985 until 1992, sex ratio, length composition, relative growth and reproduction were studied. The overall sex ratio deviates significantly from 1:1 with 1[male ]:1·8[female] (P[les ]0·001). On average, sexes are equally large, but adult females attain a slightly larger size than adult males. No sex-specific differences in the length–weight relationship were found. Relative growth of the first abdominal segment is clearly of sexual-dimorphic character. On the basis of the length–frequency distributions, the life cycle of the HTR population lasts between one and two years. According to the appearance of ovigerous females and juveniles, reproduction and recruitment are clearly seasonal. Recruitment takes place between July and December. The main reproduction begins in April and ends in September, with a peak between June and August. A significant increase of specimens showing both male and female morphological characters, referred to as morphological hermaphrodites (P[les ]0·001), and males (P[les ]0·05) respectively, was detected.