Recruitment Pattern Of Macrobrachium vollenhovenii In The Lagos – Lekki Lagoon System, Nigeria

Abstract

Recruitment pattern of Macrobrachium vollenhovenii in the Lagos – Lekki Lagoon System was estimated from a time series length-frequency data of two years (April 2002 – May 2004). The annual recruitment pattern was estimate through back-projection, along a trajectory defined by the von Bertalanffy Growth Formula (VBGF) of the restructured data onto the time axis. M. vollenhovenii from the Lagos Lagoon exhibited two peaks of unequal pulse strength. The peaks of the smaller sized prawn for M. vollenhovenii were noted in September to November and in February. The recruitment pattern exhibited, revealed that for sustainability of this resource exploitation should be avoided in the months of September to November and also in February, as this would allow the young recruits to grow and reproduce thereby ensuring resource sustainability.

Keywords: Recruitment Pattern, Pulse Strength, Macrobrachium vollenhovenii, Resource Sustainability, Lagos – Lekki Lagoon System.

The Zoologist Vol. 6 2008: pp. 55-60