Vol. 53 - Alaska Resources Library and Information Services

Much research on king crab biology and ecology should yet be done.
Some topics of importance include:
1) Examination of NMFS survey data to detect interannual
differences in female abundance relative to areas of larval hatch and
development in the southeastern Bering Sea.
2) Reexamine spawner-recruit relationships developed by Reeves and
Marasco (1980) in light of Item 1 and results of juvenile surveys.
This
effort would enable a better gauge of minimum numbers of spawners
required for high recruitment based on abundance in "optimal spawning
habitat," and estimates of progeny younger than the five-year lag
currently required of NMFS data.
3) Study interannual variation in peak egg hatch based on NMFS
"clutch" data.
Annual shifts of 1 - 1.5 months might reflect winterspring
temperatures and influence larval development time, settlement,
and first-year summer growth of 0+ juvenile crab.
4) Investigate timing of the oogenic cycle to partially determine
if adverse temperature would sometimes delay reproductive events (e.g.,
molting and copulation, egg extrusion note late hatch of 1976 larvae,
Fig. 3.17a) with detrimental effects
on larval growth and survival.
5) Examine NMFS data to determine major annual shifts in the
percentage of the mature female population that are primiparous (newly
recruited mature year-class) or multiparous in regions suggested under
item 1. Incorporate data on clutch size and relate both factors to
592