Analysis on morphological variations among five populations of Marsupenaeus japonicus from coastal areas of China
Body weight and ten morphological traits in five geographic groups of Marsupenaeus japonicus in coastal areas of China were compared using multivariate analysis method.Results show that there were significant variations between male and female M.japonicus while no significant variations between different geographic populations.For the same gender,populations from Hainan and Beihai were closely linked and those from Xiamen and Zhaoan were closely linked.Significant correlation coefficients(P0.01)were found between body weight(Y)and morphological traits of body length(X 2 )and carapace width(X 4 )for females,and between body weight(Y)and body length(X 2 and the sixth abdominal segment width(X 9 )for males,which are ideal indicators of measurement for M.japonicus aquaculture.The multiple regression equations were establised as Y= 151.737+9.235X 2 +23.194X 4 for females and Y=85.280+5.222X 2 +43.656X 9 for males.