Volumen 42 - Número 2: 167-175 | 2007
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Coupling the reproductive period of blue shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris Stimpson, 1874 (Decapoda: Penaeidae) and sea surface temperature in the Gulf of California

E. Alberto Aragón-Noriega^1* 

¹Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), Unidad Sonora, Apartado Postal 349, Guaymas, Sonora 85400, México

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Reproductive period of the blue shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris was analyzed for correspondence to sea surface temperature (SST) in three zones of the Gulf of California. Mature females from fishing areas in the north (Puerto Peñasco), center (Guaymas), and south (Mazatlán), and monthly SST of 1º geographic rectangular area were examined. Average SST for 1983-2000 increased from Puerto Peñasco (22.6 ± 0.3°C) to Mazatlán (26.2 ± 0.2°C). Seasonal variations of SST between coldest and warmest months were 7.8°C in Mazatlán and 11.4°C in Puerto Peñasco. The reproductive period near Mazatlán was seven months a year but in Guaymas and Puerto Peñasco were five and four months a year, respectively. Nevertheless, in the three localities blue shrimp had one period of high reproductive intensity from May through August. In conclusion, warm water and low seasonal variability allow blue shrimp to reproduce in larger periods.

Key words: Crustacea, penaeid, maturity, environmental response, Mexico