Growth and moulting of Neomysis integer (Crustacea: Mysidacea)

Abstract

The growth and moulting of Neomysis integer (Leach) was investigated in the field and the laboratory. In the Ythan estuary, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, monthly samples taken from November 1976 to October 1978 revealed that the summer generation juveniles and mature individuals grew at a rate of 4 to 5 mm and 1 to 2 mm monthly, respectively. The winter generation had a growth rate of 3 to 4 mm monthly for juveniles and about 1 mm for mature individuals; during the winter there was a period of 3 mo when growth was almost completely stopped. Mysids reared in the laboratory on Artemia sp. nauplii had an average daily growth rate of 0.06 mm at 9°C and 0.09 mm at 16°C. The growth factors of N. integer ranged from 3 to 17% for mature and immature individuals, respectively. Intermoult periods ranged from 3 to 7 d in immature mysids to 12 to 18 d in mature mysids. Average laboratory growth curves calculated from information on growth factors and intermoult periods indicate that at 9°C (winter generation) it takes N. integer 277 d to grow to be a 15 mm mature individual, whereas at 16°C (summer generation) it takes 188 d. N. integer moults 24 times as it grows from a juvenile to a mature individual.