Limiting factors for queen conch (Lobatus gigas) reproduction: A simulation-based evaluation.

ABSTRACT: Queen conch are among the most economically, socially, and culturally important fishery resources in the Caribbean. Despite a multitude of fisheries management measures enacted across the region, populations are depleted and failing to recover. It is believed that queen conch are highly susceptible to depensatory processes, impacting reproductive success and contributing to the lack of recovery. We developed a model of reproductive dynamics to evaluate how variations in biological factors such as population density, movement speeds, rest periods between mating events, scent tracking, visual perception of conspecifics, sexual facilitation, and barriers to movement affect reproductive success and overall reproductive output. We compared simulation results to empirical observations of mating

SUBMITTER: Farmer NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8906866 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature