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Fecundity Of Blue Crab, Callinectes Sapidus, In Chesapeake Bay: Biological, Statistical And Management Considerations, Michael H. Prager, John R. Mcconaugha, Cynthia M. Jones, Patrick J. Geer

OES Faculty Publications

Ovigerous blue crabs were collected from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay during the 1986 and 1987 spawning seasons. Mean carapace width was 14.7 cm; mean fecundity was 3.2×106 eggs. Fecundity was significantly related to carapace width, and did not vary significantly with developmental stage of the eggs. Mean fecundities were 2.6×106 eggs in 1986, and 4.0×106 eggs in 1987. An additive model with year and size effects described the observed fecundities reasonably well, was compact, and was easier to interpret than a multiplicative model. To fit a more general model without year effects, the authors took the mean of 1986 …