The interannual variability of size at maturity of the brown crab Callinectes bellicosus Stimpson, 1859 (Brachyura, Portunidae) in the Gulf of California

Abstract

This study examines how the size at maturity (CW50%) of Callinectes bellicosus Stimpson, 1859 is affected by environmental variability and by the source of the data. The samples were obtained from a coastal lagoon in the eastern Gulf of California between 2000 and 2003, and in 2011. To explore for interannual variation in environmental conditions, an extended negative power-law model was used, with SSTa as the annual sum of monthly sea surface temperature anomalies and Chl-a as the monthly chlorophyll a mean in a year. The interannual variability in the CW50% of C. bellicosus was also calculated. We found that the percent of mature female drives inter-annual variability in CW50% and that the addition of Chl-a to the model does not contribute further to the explanation of this phenomenon. The hypothesis that environmental variations affect the reproductive dynamics of the stocks needs to be tested in this species in another area.