General:
Spot Shrimp generally live for four years (DFO 1999). They are night feeders that are found in deep water during the day but move to shallow water at night to feed (O'Clair and O'Clair 1998). Juveniles feed in shallow water in the summer, primarily among kelp species (Cowles 2005), and move to deeper water as they mature (Sunada 1984).
Diet:
Spot Shrimp feed on crustaceans, polychaetes, limpets, and carcasses (Cowles 2005).
Reproduction:
Spot Shrimp change sex as they age (they are protandric hermaphrodites) and spend their first years as males, then in their third to fifth year they transform into females (DFO 1999, Sempier 2003). Breeding occurs in the fall--the female carries the eggs on her swimmerettes from October to April, when the eggs hatch; the larve spend several months in the water column before settling to the bottom, primarily in May and June (DFO 1999, Marliave and Roth 1995). O'Clair and O'Clair (1998) report 2,028–3,900 eggs per clutch. Kelp beds function as nursery habitats for this species in southern British Columbia (Marliave and Roth 1995).
Predators:
Two important predators are the giant octopus Octopus dofleini and the yelloweye rockfish Sebastes ruberrimus (Cowles 2005).
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