Survival and growth of post-settlement juveniles of the spider crab Maja brachydactyla (Brachyura: Majoidea) reared under individual culture system

The effect of an individual culture system on survival and growth of juvenile crab stages 1-8 of the majid crab Maja brachydactyla Balss, 1922 was studied using larvae obtained from adult individuals collected in the NE Atlantic. The juvenile stages were cultured individually from a megalopal stage using a semi-open recirculation system. Forty-eight percent of the megalopae moulted to first juvenile stage. Detailed growth data have been obtained for each juvenile stage. juvenile development up to juvenile crab stage 8 (C1-C8) at 20 degrees C lasted 117.5 +/- 7.5 days. Survival was high during the whole experiment: 43.75% of C1 survived to perform the moult to C8. Moult increment values (%CL) were similar in all the juvenile stages (27.90-37.04%). Intermoult duration (9.37 +/- 1.04 to 33.5 +/- 2.64 days) increased sharply from stage 6, and the specific growth rate (SGR) diminished due to the significant increase of the intermoult period. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.