Reference no: EM131740426

Abalone age The Blacklip Abalone is an important species targeted by the commercial fishing industry. The shell is also often used in jewellry. For these reasons, it is important that stocks are well-managed to ensure the survival of the species and there is generally a minimum size limit imposed on all catch. The age of an abalone is determined by cutting the shell through the cone, staining it, and counting the number of rings through a microscope - a boring and time-consuming task. Other measurements, which are easier to obtain, may be used to predict the age. Use the data provided ("Project3.txt") to attempt to address the following questions of scientific interest:

• Are there differences between males and females, in terms of their weight and length? Are infants always smaller/lighter than the adults?

• Which physical attributes are important in assessing the age of an abalone?

• Suppose you are only interested in whether or not an abalone is older than 10yrs or not. Which physical attributes are important in assessing this?