Reproductive strategy of Macrobrachium amazonicum in central Amazonia - Decapoda, Caridea, Palaemonidae

Abstract

Ovigerous females were found all year round, but three periods of the hydrological cycle were significantly more favourable to gonad ripening: the middle of the rising and of the falling of the water level, as well as the low level. This suggests the direct effect of current velocity and phytoplankton production. At the population level, maximum reproduction intensity was observed during low water, and during rising water. This strategy increases the survival of planktonic larvae during the highest phytoplankton production period, and reduces intraspecific competition, increasing larval dispersal in the floodplain. -from English summary