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

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.

Crustaceana ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 1057-1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan C. Jaimes ◽  
Carlos A. Trujillo ◽  
Raúl Cruz ◽  
Carlos E. P. Teixeira ◽  
María O. B. Menezes

This study examines the settlement patterns of the Caribbean lobsterPanulirus argus(Latreille, 1804) on the continental shelf of Caribbean Colombia during a period of 16 months (December 2002-March 2004). Field studies of the puerulus settlement were performed using 20 submerged collectors between 10 and 11 m depth, at three locations (Taganga Bay, Pelícano Island and Pozos Colorados Bay) and five stations. Our goal was to collect information comparable among stations, to analyse the spatio-temporal variability of puerulus settlement, and to verify possible associations with the discharge of the Orinoco River and the regional oceanic circulation. The peak time of larval recruitment occurred in March and April, in July the influx of settlement was minimal, and a second peak occurred between August and November. We propose a hypothesis that the Panama-Colombia gyre (quasi-permanent) located in the southern Colombia Basin, could provide the mechanism that ensures self-recruitment of the stock in this region.


2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaya Gnanalingam ◽  
Mark J Butler ◽  
Thomas R Matthews ◽  
Emily Hutchinson ◽  
Raouf Kilada

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.


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 807 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Lipcius ◽  
W. T. Stockhausen ◽  
D. B. Eggleston ◽  
L. S. Marshall Jr ◽  
B. Hickey

Marine species possess dispersive stages that interconnect subpopulations, which may inhabit ‘source’ and ‘sink’ habitats, where reproduction and emigration either exceed or fall short of mortality and immigration, respectively. Postlarval supply, juvenile density and adult abundance of the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, were measured at four widely separated sites spanning >100 km in Exuma Sound, Bahamas. Adult abundance was lowest at a site with the highest postlarval supply and little nursery habitat; hence, it was tentatively classified as a sink. Circulation in Exuma Sound is dominated by large-scale gyres which apparently concentrate and advect postlarvae toward the nominal sink. The remaining three sites, including one marine reserve, had higher adult abundances despite lower postlarval supply, and are therefore tentatively classified as sources. Postlarval supply is probably decoupled from adult abundance by physical transport. Adult abundance is likely decoupled from postlarval supply by the effects of varying habitat quality upon postlarval and juvenile survival, as indicated by non-significant differences among sites in juvenile density. It appears that some sites with suitable settlement and nursery habitat are sources of spawning stock for Panulirus argus, whereas others with poor habitat are sinks despite sufficient postlarval influx.


2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 327-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Behringer ◽  
Mark J. Butler ◽  
William F. Herrnkind ◽  
John H. Hunt ◽  
Charles A. Acosta ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Antonio Baeza ◽  
Rodolfo Umaña-Castro ◽  
Luis M Mejia-Ortiz

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.


Check List ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-429
Author(s):  
Jaime A. Gonzalez-Cueto ◽  
Sigmer Quiroga

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. 


2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Cruz ◽  
Eugenio Díaz ◽  
Marysabel Báez ◽  
Roberto Adriano

Caribbean lobsters Panulirus argus support a large commercial fishery that is one of the most important at world level. The biggest theoretical and practical problem for management of the fishery is the great variation and uncertainty in recruitment. We synthesize the results of 10 years’ study of the abundance variability of the complex life-cycle stages of spiny lobsters in the Gulf of Batabanó. A total of 38 109 pueruli and postpueruli (1988–1996) were caught with artificial seaweed collectors, 21 047 juveniles (1982–1994) in concrete-block shelters, and 69 979 adults (1985–1990) in Cuban pesqueros (artificial shelters). Field studies have increased our understanding of pelagic puerulus and immature benthic-phase development and behaviour, and the recruitment variability strategies. The analysis of relative abundance in the earliest stages allows us to define the recruitment patterns and tendencies, to predict recruitment, and to establish their relationship with adults and the fishery. Recruitment overfishing, hurricane phenomenon, and other environmental events may be responsible for the recruitment decline since 1988. This research will provide more data to assist in improving the management of this valuable resource.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Shaver ◽  
Julianna J. Renzi ◽  
Maite G. Bucher ◽  
Brian R. Silliman

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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Behringer ◽  
Mark J. Butler ◽  
Jessica Moss ◽  
Jeffrey D. Shields

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.


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