Resumen

ANDRADE DE PASQUIER, Glenys  y  PEREZ E, Eduardo P. Growth of the white shrimp litopenaeus schmitti in western Venezuela. INCI [online]. 2004, vol.29, n.4, pp.212-218. ISSN 0378-1844.

Prior reports on the growth of Litopenaeus schmitti showed differences in the values for the estimated parameters. These reports used length frequency distributions from Lake Maracaibo, where small specimens predominate, and omitted the fraction of large individuals that predominate in the Gulf of Venezuela. The present study reevaluated the growth of this species, considering the complete range of sizes present in both environments. A multinomial fit was used to differentiate modes, with a coefficient of variation of 3.5%. Calculation of the growth parameters used data on size increments between sizes at time intervals, adjusting the parameters using the von Bertalanffy growth formula through the least squares method. In females the growth was given by L_t=21.7(1-e^{-0.95(t+0.050)}), while in males it was given by L_t=19.4(1-e^{-1.10(t+0.048)}). A statistically significant difference in growth was observed between the two sexes (F-test=8.01, p<0.05).

Palabras clave : Growth; Gulf of Venezuela; Lake Maracaibo; Litopenaeus schmitti; Size Structure; White Shrimp.