| Between 1994 and 1999, several sampling designs were used to measure the growth of the black-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera var. cumingi at different sites in French Polynesia. Using a common statistical method, growth data were analysed for nine sites and showed significant geographic variability. Parameters of the Von Bertalanffy model, fitted on the nine data sets, ranged from 147 to 186.5 mm for the H-infinity parameter and from 0.42 to 0.58 year(-1) for the k parameter. The phi parameter (combination of H-infinity and k) provided a ranking classification of growth in these nine sites: growth was low in closed atoll lagoons, such as Takapoto, whereas the island lagoons and ocean habitat supported a very promising shell growth. Calculated on... |
