Litopenaeus setiferus explained

Litopenaeus setiferus (also accepted: Penaeus setiferus,[1] and known by various common names including Atlantic white shrimp, white shrimp, gray shrimp, lake shrimp, green shrimp, green-tailed shrimp, blue-tailed shrimp, rainbow shrimp, Daytona shrimp, Mayport Shrimp, common shrimp, southern shrimp, and, in Mexico, Spanish; Castilian: camaron blanco) is a species of prawn found along the Atlantic coast of North America and in the Gulf of Mexico.[2] It was the subject of the earliest shrimp fishery in the United States.

Distribution

The range of L. setiferus extends from Fire Island, New York to Ciudad Campeche, Mexico.[2] It requires warm water, and is unable to survive below 3C, with appreciable growth only occurring at temperatures over 20C.[2]

Description

Litopenaeus setiferus may reach a total length (excluding antennae) of, with females being larger than males.[2] The antennae may be up to three times the length of the body, which is bluish white with a tinge of pink on the sides, and black spots.[3] The pleopods are often redder, and the uropods and telson are green.[3] The rostrum is long and thin, with 5–11 teeth on the upper edge and two on the lower edge, and continues along the carapace as a dorsal carina (ridge).[3] Deep grooves alongside the carina separate the related species Farfantepenaeus aztecus ("brown shrimp") and Farfantepenaeus duorarum ("pink shrimp") from L. setiferus,[2] [3] which is sometimes called the non-grooved shrimp.[2]

Ecology

Litopenaeus setiferus lives in estuaries and from the littoral zone to water with a depth of in the Atlantic, or up to in the Gulf of Mexico.[3] Litopenaeus setiferus is an omnivore; in Lake Pontchartrain, it feeds chiefly on the seagrass Vallisneria americana and detritus.[4] Many aquatic animals feed on L. setiferus, including fish such as red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and turtles such as the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta).[4]

Life cycle

Spawning in L. setiferus occurs while the water is warm, between the increase in water temperatures in the spring and the sudden decline in temperature in the fall.[2] It generally occurs within 9km (06miles) of the shoreline, in water less than deep in the Atlantic, or 8- deep in the Gulf of Mexico.[2] Males attach a spermatophore to the females, which is then used to fertilize the eggs as they are released.[2] Each female releases 500,000–1,000,000 purplish eggs, each 0.2- across, which sink to the bottom of the water column.[2]

After 10–12 hours, the eggs hatch into nauplius larvae, which are 0.3mm long, planktonic and unable to feed.[2] They molt five times to reach the protozoa stage, 1mm long. These grow to 2.5mm long over two molts, before passing through three molts as a mysis larva.[2] About 15–20 days after hatching, the animals reaches the postlarva stage; in the second postlarval stage, at a length of 7mm, they begin to enter estuaries and drop down to the substrate.[2]

Spring rains flush the shrimp out into the ocean. In the Eastern United States, shrimp then migrate south towards warmer waters.[5]

Fishery

Subsistence fishing for prawns was carried out by Native Americans along the Atlantic coast.[6] This knowledge was passed on to European settlers,[6] and Litopenaeus setiferus became the subject of the earliest shrimp fishery in the United States, with commercial fishery for L. setiferus starting as early as 1709.[2]

The harvesting for L. setiferus began in the 1950s and since that time is collected monthly throughout Gulf of Mexico.[7]

Other references

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WoRMS . World Register of Marine Species . 2020-02-13.
  2. Robert J. Muncy. 1984. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (South Atlantic). White shrimp. United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. FWS/OBS-82/11.27. 26 July 2024. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
  3. Web site: Litopenaeus setiferus. Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. Field Guide to the Indian River Lagoon. October 2, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180920152057/http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Penaeu_setife.htm. September 20, 2018. dead.
  4. Web site: A Generalized Food Web for Lake Pontchartrain in Southeastern Louisiana. July 2009. Christopher D. Davis. October 2, 2018. Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
  5. News: Reed, Matt. Will U.S. fish limits deplete Canaveral's fleet. Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. 10A. December 22, 2011.
  6. Web site: Commercial Fisheries: Shrimp. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Characterization of the Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin, South Carolina. May 11, 2011. G. Riekerk. https://web.archive.org/web/20111017022108/http://nerrs.noaa.gov/Doc/SiteProfile/ACEBasin/html/resource/commfish/cfshmpfh.htm. October 17, 2011. dead.
  7. Web site: Three Decades of U.S. Gulf of Mexico White Shrimp, Litopenaeus setiferus, Commercial Catch Statistics. Rick A. Hart and James M. Nance. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. October 2, 2018.