Population Ecology and Biology of the Pearlfish (Carapus Bermudensis) in the Lagoon at Bimini, Bahamas

Sea cucumber hosts of the pearlfish Carapus bermudensis were censused periodically between May 1972 and May 1973 and more intensively between June and September 1975 in the lagoon of the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. More than 5,500 hosts were examined and 1,174 pearlfish were collected. Data are presented on standing crop estimates, abundance and distribution of the host and pearlfish, multiple infestation rates, and pearlfish food habits, reproduction and recruitment, age and growth, longevity, mortality rates and specializations.