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Reproductive Dynamics of Spot Tail Mantis Shrimp (Squilla mantis): Insights from the Central Mediterranean Sea
by
, and
Sabrina Colella
1,
Alessia Mascoli
2,*,†,
Fortunata Donato
1,*,
Monica Panfili
1,
Alberto Santojanni
1 and
Giorgia Gioacchini
2 1
National Research Council (CNR), Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (IRBIM), 60125 Ancona, Italy
2
Laboratory of Developmental and Reproductive Biology, DiSVA, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Current address: Department of Fish Physiology and Biotechnology, Instituto de Acuicultura Torre de la Sal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 12595 Ribera de Cabanes, Castellón, Spain.
Animals 2024, 14(17), 2503; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14172503
Submission received: 26 July 2024
/
Revised: 26 August 2024
/
Accepted: 26 August 2024
/
Published: 28 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Aquatic Animals)
Simple Summary
Squilla mantis, also known as spot tail mantis shrimp, is a stomatopod crustacean widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. In Italy, S. mantis is the main crustacean species targeted by commercial catches, and in particular, the Adriatic landings represented about 65% of the total national catches in 2021. Despite the economic, ecological, and nutritional importance of S. mantis, studies on reproductive biology are scarce or not updated in the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the Adriatic Sea. In light of the above, the aim of this study was to describe the reproductive aspects of spot tail mantis shrimp, contributing to enriching the knowledge of S. mantis reproductive biology. Therefore, our findings could be considered an important tool for correct fisheries management and sustainable exploitation of this commercially fished resource in the Adriatic Sea.
Abstract
Fisheries management requires improvement in scientific knowledge to ensure sustainable exploitation of important commercial species and population renewal. Within this context, this study focused on the reproductive biology of spot tail mantis shrimp, Squilla mantis, in the Central Mediterranean Sea, aiming to understand the reproductive pattern of this species and validate the macroscopic maturity scale through histological analysis. A multi-year sampling was performed from 2016 to 2020 by a commercial fishing fleet in the Northern Central Adriatic Sea (GSA 17), and a total of 2206 individuals were collected. The monthly average value of the total sex ratio of S. mantis was 0.524 ± 0.044 (mean ± SEM) in favor of females, which dominated the population from September to April. The proposed 5 stage macroscopic maturity scale was validated histologically through histological analysis, confirming synchronous ovarian development. The somatic indexes (GSI and K Fulton) and monthly incidence of macroscopic ovarian maturity stages highlighted a protracted reproductive season from winter to spring (January–May). Although the length-weight relationship showed a similar growth trend between genders, males reached a bigger size in terms of carapace length (C.L.) and dominated the population from 32 mm (C.L.). The macroscopic L50 estimated was 25.94 mm (C.L.).
