The Life of CrustaceaCalman, W. T. (William Thomas)
Science
The Life of Crustacea
Calman, W. T. (William Thomas)
Crustacea
Except as food, the Crustacea are of very little direct use to man.
Almost the only instance in which they are otherwise utilized is in the
case of a species of sessile Barnacle (_Balanus_) which is cultivated
in Japan for use as manure. The method of culture has been described by
Professor Mitsukuri. Bunches of bamboo "collectors," like those used for
the collection of oyster-spat, are fixed into the ground on tidal flats.
After two or three months they are taken up, and the Barnacles with
which they have become covered are beaten off and sold for use as
manure.
Apart from their direct utility, however, the Crustacea are indirectly
of great importance as providing a large part of the food-supply of
marketable fishes. From this point of view, a study of the habits and
distribution of the commoner species may be of practical value in
throwing light on the migrations and other obscure points in the
life-history of the fishes that prey upon them. As an example of this,
we may refer to some investigations on the Mackerel fishery recently
carried out by the naturalists of the Marine Biological Association at
Plymouth. In the spring and early summer months the Mackerel migrate
into inshore waters for the purpose of spawning. During this period the
fish congregate in shoals at the surface of the sea, and are captured in
drift-nets. The extent of this "shoaling" varies greatly from year to
year, and determines whether the season shall be a profitable one for
the fishermen or not. When shoaling, the fish feed exclusively on
plankton, consisting largely of Copepoda, and it has been shown by Mr.
G. E. Bullen that the fluctuations in the yield of the Mackerel fishery
from year to year follow very closely the fluctuations in the abundance
of the Copepod plankton on the fishing-grounds. The investigation has
been carried a step farther by Dr. E. J. Allen, who points out that the
abundance of Copepods is determined by the abundance of the Diatoms and
other minute vegetable organisms of the plankton. These organisms are
very largely influenced by the amount of sunshine during the period of
their development in the earlier months of the year. Dr. Allen gives a
diagram showing for each of seven years (1902-1908) the average number
of hours of bright sunshine during the months of February and March in
the South-West of England. With this he compares the number of fish
caught in the month of May in each of these years by certain vessels
engaged in the western Mackerel fishery. The correspondence between the
two is very striking indeed, and justifies his conclusion that the
amount of sunshine in the early months of the year determines the
abundance of the vegetable life of the plankton, and through it of the
Copepods and other animals which form the bulk of the plankton a little
later in the year; and although there are doubtless other influences at
work determining the success or failure of the fishery, it is largely a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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