Sex ratio, fecundity and reproductive potential in two marine portunid crabs, <i>Portunus (Portunus) sanguinolentus</i> (Herbst) and <i>Portunus (Portunus) pelagicus</i> (Linnaeus) along the Karnataka coast

Abstract

Chi-square values for the pooled data were significant at a probability level of 0.05 indicating that there was significant variation in sex ratio in P.(P.) sanguinolentus and P. (P.) pelagicus. The fecundity increased with the size of the crab from 0.044 to 1.19 x 10(6) eggs in P.(P.) sanguinolentus and from 0.056 to 1.07 x 10(6) eggs in P. (P.) pelagicus and the correlation coefficient values were significant at P less than or equal to 0.001 level between the parameters studied. The productivity was found to increase from a low of 0.1 in 80-90 mm to a maximum of 2.2 in 120-130 mm in the former and 130-140 mm in the latter species.