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Age, growth, and condition of the Mud River crayfish Orconectes ronaldi Taylor 2000 (Decapoda: Cambaridae)
Noss H, Anderson W and Simon TP 
Published Online: 12/31/2015
Abstract
The Mud River crayfish, Orconectes ronaldi Taylor, is a native crayfish species found in the Midwestern United States in Kentucky and Indiana. Length-weight relationship, body morphometric relationship, and condition within the species native range in south-central Indiana were studied. Growth, size relationships based on gender, sexual phase for adults and juveniles and chelae-length/width relationships were used to interpret patterns in sexual dimorphism. Carapace length (CL)–wet weight (Wwt) relationships for all genders (i.e., male, female, juvenile) and all male forms (form I and II) had positive allometric growth. Male individuals were not significantly heavier than females of the same length. The maximum length and weights of males (35.1 mm CL) were longer and heavier (11.8 g) than the longest female (31.5 mm) weighing 8.3 g. No statistical difference in mean weight was observed; however, this is attributed to the accelerated development of the chelae in sexually mature form I males, whereas chelae of females grow slower throughout life. Chelae length was significantly different between male form II and male form I, and male form II and females (P = 0.004, and P = <0.001, respectively). The relatively longer chelae of form I and form II males are due to sexually dimorphic change.
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How to Cite
Noss H, Anderson W and Simon TP. (2015). Age, growth, and condition of the Mud River crayfish Orconectes ronaldi Taylor 2000 (Decapoda: Cambaridae). Freshwater Crayfish 21(1):115-121. doi: 10.5869/fc.2015.v21-1.115
Author Information
Hanna Noss, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 1315 E. Tenth Street, Bloomington, Indiana, USA47403. E-mail: hrnoss@umail.iu.edu
Wendy E. Anderson, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 1315 E. Tenth Street, Bloomington, Indiana, USA47403. E-mail: weeander@indiana.edu
Thomas P. Simon,* School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 1315 E. Tenth Street, Bloomington, Indiana, USA47403. E-mail: tsimon@indiana.edu
Corresponding Author indicated by an *.
Publication History
Manuscript Submitted: 10/23/2015
Manuscript Accepted: 12/14/2015
Published Online: 12/31/2015
Published in Print: 12/31/2015
Funding Information
No specific funding statement is available for this article.