FECUNDITY AND BROOD LOSS OF SAND SHRIMP, CRANGON URITAI (DECAPODA: CRANGONIDAE)

Fecundity and brood loss during incubation were investigated in the crangonid shrimp Crangon uritai. Changes in egg length, volume and dry weight were also studied. During embryonic development, egg length and egg volume increased by 43.5% and 69.3%, respectively, whereas egg dry weight decreased by 23.2%. Crangon uritai ovigerous females (5.61-14.11 mm CL) carried 412 to 13,824 eggs per brood, depending on their body size in both early and late stages of egg development. The reproductive output of C. uritai averaged 0.24, based on dry weight in early eggs. Brood loss through embryonic development was independent of female size and estimated to be a 5.56% loss in the number of eggs and an 8.44% loss in brood dry weight. Possible reasons for brood loss include the burrowing behavior of shrimp and increasing egg size, which results in reduced area for eggs to attach.