Biological traits of the spot prawn Pandalus platyceros Brandt, 1851 (Decapoda, Caridea) at its southernmost distribution limit

Abstract

The spot prawn fishery, targeting Pandalus platyceros, has failed to prove commercially viable on the Mexican Pacific coast. A survey was carried out off the northwestern coast of Baja California, at depths of 140-180 m. The objective was to describe the biological traits of the species to test the hypothesis that warmer water stimulates higher growth parameters. An average model was estimated that anticipated an inverted exponential growth curve, consequently the growth parameters of the Von Bertalanffy model were obtained as $\mathit{k}=0.421$, ${\mathit{L}}_{\infty }=47.44\text{mm}$ carapace length (CL) and ${\mathit{t}}_0=0$. Being a protandric hermaphrodite, the transition size was estimated at 40.8 mm CL. The results challenged the hypothesis that P. platyceros grows faster in temperate environments than in cold environments.