Growth Characteristics of Edible Land Crab Cardisomaarmatum (Brachyura: Gecarcinidae) from KribiMangroves, Cameroon

Abstract

The land crab Cardisoma armatum is traditionally overexploited for consumption issue in Cameroonian mangroves. However, the exploitation of this natural resource ignores sustainable management. Hence, the study aims to assess the availability and growth patterns of C. armatum in Kribi mangroves throughout some of their morphological parameters. Several individuals were captured inside traps baited once each two months from March 2019 to March 2020. Then, wellbeing, growth patterns and size at the first sexual maturity were assessed based on sex, seasons or maturity stages. Despite the fact that the condition factor (K) value overall remained below 1, females and matures individuals were in a better wellbeing compared to males and immature. In the CW-BW relationships, the allometry coefficients (b) were below 3 for both sexes, suggesting a negative allometry growth patterns which means that crabs are lighter than their body weights. In the CW-CL and CW-BH relationships, males showed a positive allometry (b>1) while females a negative allometry (b<1). Fifty percent maturity of females (CW50=58.87±0.14 mm) was significantly lower than that of males (CW50=62.67±0.08 mm). Immature and mature crabs were recorded throughout the sampling period indicating that this species breeds throughout the year with a peak between September and November.