scholarly journals Relationships between a common Caribbean corallivorous snail and protected area status, coral cover, and predator abundance

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Shaver ◽  
Julianna J. Renzi ◽  
Maite G. Bucher ◽  
Brian R. Silliman
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Marine Protection ◽  
Coral Health ◽  
Coralliophila Abbreviata

Abstract As coral populations decline across the Caribbean, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the forces that inhibit coral survivorship and recovery. Predation by corallivores, such as the short coral snail Coralliophila abbreviata, are one such threat to coral health and recovery worldwide, but current understanding of the factors controlling corallivore populations, and therefore predation pressure on corals, remains limited. To examine the extent to which bottom-up forces (i.e., coral prey), top-down forces (i.e., predators), and marine protection relate to C. abbreviata distributions, we surveyed C. abbreviata abundance, percent coral cover, and the abundance of potential snail predators across six protected and six unprotected reefs in the Florida Keys. We found that C. abbreviata abundance was lower in protected areas where predator assemblages were also more diverse, and that across all sites snail abundance generally increased with coral cover. C. abbreviata abundance had strong, negative relationships with two gastropod predators—the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and the grunt black margate (Anisotremus surinamensis), which may be exerting top-down pressure on C. abbreviata populations. Further, we found the size of C. abbreviata was also related to reef protection status, with larger C. abbreviata on average in protected areas, suggesting that gape-limited predators such as P. argus and A. surinamensis may alter size distributions by targeting small snails. Combined, these results provide preliminary evidence that marine protection in the Florida Keys may preserve critical trophic interactions that indirectly promote coral success via control of local populations of the common corallivorous snail C. abbreviata.

scholarly journals Directly ageing the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus with validated band counts from gastric mill ossicles

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaya Gnanalingam ◽  
Mark J Butler ◽  
Thomas R Matthews ◽  
Emily Hutchinson ◽  
Raouf Kilada
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Gastric Mill ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Reader Experience

Abstract In crustaceans, ecdysis was long believed to result in the loss and replacement of all calcified structures, precluding the use of conventional ageing methods. However, the discovery of bands in the gastric ossicles of several crustaceans with some correlation with age suggests that direct age estimation may be possible. We applied this method to a tropical spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, one of the most iconic and economically valuable species in the Caribbean. The presence of growth bands was investigated using wild lobsters of unknown age and was validated with captive reared lobsters of known age (1.5–10 years) from the Florida Keys, Florida (USA). Bands were consistently identified in ptero- and zygo-cardiac ossicles of the gastric mill and did not appear to be associated with moulting. Validation with known age animals confirms that bands form annually. Counts between independent readers were reproducible with coefficients of variation ranging from 11% to 26% depending on reader experience and the structure used. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that direct age determination of P. argus is possible.

Historical demography of the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804) (Decapoda: Achelata: Palinuridae) in the Florida Keys, USA inferred using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Antonio Baeza ◽  
Rodolfo Umaña-Castro ◽  
Luis M Mejia-Ortiz
Keyword(s):  
Model Selection ◽  
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
Model Selection Approach ◽  
Selection Approach ◽  
The Caribbean

ABSTRACT The Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804) is an important species in shallow-water coral reefs and target of the most lucrative fishery in the Caribbean Sea. We explored historical demography in P. argus inferred using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We expected an increase in population size of P. argus from Florida, USA starting ~18,000–24,000 years ago, after the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets started to retreat and sub-tropical/tropical shallow coastal waters warmed up. A total of 10 lobsters were collected from shallow reefs in the Florida Keys, Florida, USA. One microgram of gDNA extracted from each specimen was used for RAD library construction using established protocols. A panel of 1643 SNPs obtained after interrogation of RAD-tags was used to calculate a site frequency spectrum (SFS). The observed SFS for the Florida population of P. argus exhibited a non-normal distribution peaking at singleton SNPs. The expected SFS in a total of six different candidate demographic models with dissimilar population size changes through time (i.e., standard neutral, exponential growth, bottleneck, bottleneck + growth, two epochs, and three epochs) were numerically computed in the software ∂a∂i and a model selection approach was implemented to test which expected model(s) best fitted the empirical SFS. The model selection approach indicated that the bottleneck + growth model most closely matched the observed SFS; P. argus experienced a population decline at about 1.9 (0.75–5.7) mya, to then recover and growth exponentially until present time. In disagreement with expectations, population expansion started much earlier than ~18,000–24,000 years ago. Fisheries and conservation studies are expected to profit from the evaluation of genomic and population variability in this species using demographic models, as shown here. Studies exploring population connectivity and locality-specific demographic history of P. argus are underway.

Modelling the effect of spatial variation in postlarval supply and habitat structure on recruitment of Caribbean spiny lobster

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Butler IV ◽  
Thomas Dolan ◽  
William Herrnkind ◽  
John Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Structure ◽  
Geographical Variation ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Nursery Habitat ◽  
Random Model ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Many field studies have shown that recruitment of the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, is sensitive to variation in both postlarval supply and local nursery-habitat structure. We used a spatially explicit individual-based model, to investigate the effects of (i) spatio-temporal variation in postlarval supply and (ii) changes in the spatial structure of the nursery habitat on lobster recruitment to the Florida Keys, Florida (USA). By simulating eight different regional scenarios describing postlarval supply, we investigated whether differences in the spatio-temporal delivery of postlarvae to the Florida Keys alters recruitment of subadult lobsters. Our results indicate that random geographical variation in postlarval supply yields the highest predicted recruitment, whereas persistently patchy settlement yields the lowest. Field observations of postlarval supply suggest that the random model is the most realistic. In separate simulations, we determined the sensitivity of the model to changes in the geographic arrangement of nursery habitat and the spatial resolution of habitat structure. The most spatially explicit depictions of habitat structure yielded small, but marginally significant differences in lobster recruitment as compared with more generalized spatial scenarios. These differences may well be magnified when more detailed depictions of postlarval settlement are implemented in the model.

scholarly journals First record of Carcinonemertes conanobrieni Simpson, Ambrosio & Baeza, 2017 (Nemertea, Carcinonemertidae), an egg predator of the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804), on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia

Check List ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-429
Author(s):  
Jaime A. Gonzalez-Cueto ◽  
Sigmer Quiroga
Keyword(s):  
New Record ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
First Record ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Caribbean Coast ◽  
Egg Predator ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
First Time

Carcinonemertes conanobrieni Simpson, Ambrosio & Baeza, 2017, an egg predator of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804), is recorded for the first time in Colombian waters and the Caribbean. Worms were isolated from an egg mass of a lobster caught at the Gulf of Salamanca, Magdalena. Little is known about the distribution of this species and currently this record from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia is the only one outside of the Florida Keys, USA. The new record suggests that this parasite might be present in the entire Caribbean Sea. 

PaV1 infection in the Florida spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery and its effects on trap function and disease transmission

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Behringer ◽  
Mark J. Butler ◽  
Jessica Moss ◽  
Jeffrey D. Shields
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Pathogenic Virus ◽  
Lobster Fishery ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Polymerase Chain

The Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) supports the most economically valuable fishery in the Caribbean. In Florida, USA, the majority of the catch is landed in traps “baited” with live, sublegal-sized lobsters that attract other lobsters due to their social nature. This species is also commonly infected by the pathogenic virus Panulirus argus Virus 1 (PaV1). Here we describe a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assessment of the prevalence of PaV1 in the lobster fishery from the Florida Keys. We tested the effect of PaV1-infected lobsters in traps on catch and on transmission to other trapped, uninfected lobsters. We found that 11% of the lobsters caught in commercial traps were positive for the virus by PCR, but none of these animals showed visible signs of disease. We also tested whether healthy lobsters avoid diseased lobsters in traps. Traps into which we introduced an infected lobster caught significantly fewer lobsters than traps containing an uninfected lobster. Moreover, uninfected lobsters confined in traps with infected lobsters acquired significantly more PaV1 infections than those confined with uninfected lobsters. This study demonstrates the indirect effects that pathogens can have on fisheries and the unintended consequences of certain fishery practices on the epidemiology of a marine pathogen.

Current Status of Marine Protected Areas in Latin America and the Caribbean

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1630-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. PAULINA GUARDERAS ◽  
SALLY D. HACKER ◽  
JANE LUBCHENCO
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Current Status ◽  
The Caribbean

Estimation of abundance and spatial distribution of Panulirus argus using different methodologies in artificial shelter, trap and coral reef fisheries

Crustaceana ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Cruz ◽  
Carlos A. Borda
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Fishing Gear ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
The West ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Protection Area ◽  
Marine Protection

Estimates of spiny lobster stocks (Panulirus argus Latreille, 1804) represent a fundamental input for population assessment models and are, therefore, indispensable for proper management. In this study we analysed methodologies employed in the Gulf of Batabanó (Cuba) and Providencia and Santa Catalina (Colombian Caribbean) to estimate abundance (N) and stock productivity. We found evidence that the relative abundance (CPUE) for trap-like jaulones and skin diving in natural shelters was likely to remain high despite the decline in abundance (hyperstability). In contrast, the proportionality between CPUE and N was satisfactory in artificial shelters (Cuban pesqueros). Stock productivity was greater for jaulones (22 288 kg/km2) than for pesqueros (1309 kg/km2) or natural shelters (15.25 kg/km2), reflecting differences in the productive capacity of each type of fishing gear. In natural shelters the exploitable biomass is under great fishing pressure and the reproductive stock is likely to decrease. Thus, the West zone of Providencia and Santa Catalina, characterized by high-density seagrass and mangrove, should be designated a marine protection area to prevent a lobster fishing collapse. The most effective measure to revert the lobster fishing collapse in Cuba would be to ban the use of jaulones and liftable pesqueros, thereby reducing fishing intensity.

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