Assignment Task: The spiny lobster Panulirus argus reaches maturity at 1.5 - 2 years of age. When they mate, the male places a tough spermatophore (sperm packet) on the sternum of the female, which she carries with her until her eggs are mature. She then extrudes her eggs (up to nearly 2 million) and simultaneously scratches open the spermatophore to fertilize her eggs. The fertilized eggs then hook on under her tail and she uses her 5th pair of walking legs to groom and oxygenate the eggs. The eggs remain there for several weeks as they develop and the larvae eventually hatch. The free-swimming planktonic larvae then spend 5-7 months circulating in the oceanic currents until they then metamorphose into a puerulus and settle into nursery habitat. The lobster's life span is 25 years or more.
The European green crab Carcinus maenas reaches sexual maturity in 2-3 years and can spawn up to 3 times per year. They form mating pairs several days before the female molts during summer and he guards her until she molts and they copulate. A few months later, the egg sac appears, which the female carries attached to her abdomen until hatching. A female can carry up to 200,000 fertilized eggs. The eggs hatch from the egg mass into free-swimming planktonic larvae, which can last in the water column from anywhere between 17-80 days before metamorphosing into megalopae and settling into nursery habitat. The green crab lives for approximately five years.
Where would you put each crustacean on the r-K continuum and give three reasons why?