AUTHOR=Vasconcelos Joana , Sousa Ricardo , Ferro João , Pinto Ana Rita , Freitas Mafalda , Riera Rodrigo 

TITLE=Fecundity, an overlooked life-history trait for coastal management of commercial molluscs?

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1173629

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.1173629

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>Gonadal development in limpets is well-known. However, the integration of fecundity data on coastal management actions remains overlooked. Here, we use fecundity of two exploited limpets (<italic>Patella ordinaria</italic> and <italic>P. aspera</italic>) to demonstrate its potential as a conservation tool to preserve the harvested populations of both species. From October 2021 to June 2022, 158 females of <italic>P. ordinaria</italic> and 70 of <italic>P. aspera</italic> were collected from the coastal rocky shores of the archipelago of Madeira (NE Atlantic Ocean). The fecundity in both species appears to be determinate, and estimated batch fecundity 365,638 ± 204,462 oocytes for <italic>P. ordinaria</italic> and 73,029 ± 43,496 oocytes for <italic>P. aspera</italic>. The presence of spawning individuals of both species until May is of significant relevance to their management and conservation. A harvest-ban (November-March) is currently implemented in the coastal governance actions of <italic>P. ordinaria</italic> and <italic>P. aspera</italic>. Based on the fecundity results, small adjustments can be made to further improve the conservation of adult individuals, which are important for the continuity of future generations. So far, fecundity data constitute an overlooked life trait of key importance to preserve populations of exploited species, primarily those with limited mobility such as semi-sessile littoral limpets.</p>