Reproductive features of the deep-water rose shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris (Crustacea: Penaeidae), in the Strait of Sicily
The deep‑water rose shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846), is one of the most valuable and heavily exploited demersal species of the Mediterranean bottom trawl fisheries. The basic life traits of this shrimp, in particular its reproductive aspects, are regularly monitored during experimental trawl surveys carried out in the Mediterranean Sea. Gonadic condition and maturity status for estimating the size at onset of sexual maturity are commonly assessed in females, using macroscopic color scales, histologically validated only in a few geographical areas. In this study, histological analyses were performed on rose shrimps collected from a trawl survey carried out in the Strait of Sic…
Trawl mesh selectivity and body engagement pattern in the red shrimpAristaeomorpha foliacea(Risso, 1827) (Crustacea: Decapoda)
The paper presents selectivity data and utilizes an elliptic surface index (maximum height and width of the folded body), in order to explain the selectivity differences between sexes and to investigate the body engagement pattern of the red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea. The results show that males are retained more, with significant differences, and demonstrates a previously unknown morphological difference between sexes (folded males are significantly higher than females of the same carapace length, while the latter are larger, but not significantly, than males of similar size). Nevertheless, in practice the overall escapement rate should not change dramatically with sex, since the resu…
Evidence of lipofuscin accumulation in the deep-water red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Risso, 1827)
Lipofuscin, a non-degradable, degenerative fluorescent pigment which accumulates in post-mitotic cells, represents a promising method for ageing marine crustaceans. The presence and accumulation of lipofuscin has been studied in the deep-water red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Risso, 1827) to assess its use as a tool for ageing larger (i.e., older) specimens and thus improve knowledge of the growth and longevity of this species. Specimens, gathered during experimental trawl surveys carried out in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea), were stored directly on-board in 10% buffered formaldehyde solution; their brain was thereafter removed, prepared with various current histological techn…