MULTI-MODEL APPROACH FOR GROWTH ANALYSIS OF EVIBACUS PRINCEPS SMITH, 1869 (DECAPODA, SCYLLARIDAE) IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA

In Mexico, the spiny lobster fishery is well established but this is not the case with the slipper lobster fishery. For a sustainable fishery, many biological traits must be known, one of which is growth. The objective of the present study was to probe the multi-model approach to identify the curve that best describes the growth of Evibacus princeps from the Gulf of California. Specimens were collected aboard commercial trawlers during the industrial shrimp fishing season (October 2021-March 2022) at depths ranging from 10 to 55 m. Five versions of the Schnute model (including the Von Bertalanffy model) were applied and the best model was selected using the Bayesian information criterion. The estimation of an average model was performed because no model obtained 90% of the evidence. E. princeps from the Gulf of California exhibit an indeterminate growth pattern.

Automated summary

The present study aimed to investigate the growth characteristics of Evibacus princeps from the Gulf of California using a multi-model approach. Through the collection and analysis of a large number of specimens, it was found that E. princeps exhibits an indeterminate growth pattern.