Developing more Precise Means of Identifying Shrimp

Prediction of year class strength, accurate assessment of important nursery habitat, the impact of water and wetland management strategies and decisions regarding the effect of coastal development on shrimp populations require correct identification of all life stages of shrimp. While separation of adult brown shrimp from pink shrimp is relatively easy, separation of their postlarval and early juvenile stages remains problematic. We propose a dual approach for identifying, assessing and verifying differences between species that minimizes the impact of morphological variability because of extrinsic factors yet provides confirmation of specimen identification (ID). This procedure combines ontogenetic scaling techniques with ID by molecular genetic testing.

Our goals are two-fold:
1) develop an ontogenetic index that permits rapid and reliable separation of postlarval brown from pink shrimp yet allows screening of large numbers of specimens; and
2) develop relatively inexpensive tests to verify the identity of these two closely related species of shrimp.

Ultimately, information provided by this project will contribute to more accurate estimates of year class strength, improve predictive capabilities and provide fishery managers with better information upon which to base recommendations regarding potential annual yield and regulation of the shrimp fishery.