The Recruitment Pattern of Macrobrachium macrobrachion (Herklots, 1851) from Luubara Creek, Ogoni Land, Niger Delta, Nigeria

The recruitment pattern of Macrobrachium macrobrachion from Luubara creek in Ogoni land area of Niger Delta region in Nigeria was studied for a period of twelve calendar months (January – December, 2007). The recruitment pattern of M. macrobrachion showed that there were two peaks per year (a major one in March w hile the secondary one w as in August). How ever, there is a year round recruitment with the highest recruitment in March (16.16%) while the lowest recruitment was in O ctober (0.42% ). The grow th parameters obtained for the recruited shrimps were L∞ = 88.01, K = 0.58, C = 0.05, WP = 0 and t0 = 0. C indicates the amplitude of seasonal growth oscillations (that is, the magnitude of the growth patterns) and has values ranging from 0 to 1. WP (winter point) indicates the time of the year during which growth is minimal for temperate species but may not be applicable for tropical species. Juveniles and females were observed in the creek throughout the study period. Ovigerous females were also observed in the creek throughout the study period. There were more females than males in the population and probably this allowed for continuous replacement.