Octopuses influence den selection by juvenile Caribbean spiny lobster

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne K. Berger ◽  
Mark J. Butler IV
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Chemical Signals ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
Negative Effect

Octopuses are notorious predators of crustaceans, yet knowledge of their interactions with lobsters is largely anecdotal. Whether by preying on juvenile lobsters or by competing with them for dens or bivalve prey, octopuses should influence the den selection and therefore spatial distribution of lobsters. Lobsters are chemosensitive, so if the interaction is strong, they may respond to chemical cues produced by octopuses and avoid dens or areas where octopuses dwell. In mesocosms, juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) avoided dens emanating octopus chemical signals. Field manipulations of artificial dens at several spatial scales (<0.1 m to 10 m) showed that the distribution of lobsters was significantly influenced by the proximity of octopuses. Lobsters were significantly less likely to inhabit dens within 2 m of an octopus den, but this strong negative effect disappeared when dens were 10 m apart.

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.

Fecundity dynamics of female spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in a south Florida fishery and Dry Tortugas National Park lobster sanctuary

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney D. Bertelsen ◽  
Thomas R. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Dry Tortugas ◽  
Spiny Lobsters

Using diver surveys, we compared the size structure, fecundity, and reproductive season of spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) in the Dry Tortugas National Park lobster sanctuary with those of spiny lobsters in the south Florida fishery. The number of lobsters of both sexes larger than the legal size limit declined sharply in the fishery but not in the sanctuary. Clutch sizes were larger in the Dry Tortugas sanctuary, averaging 0.8 million, than in the fishery, averaging 0.3 million. The reproductive season was shorter and more intense in the sanctuary than in the fishery. In addition, lobsters in the sanctuary begin producing eggs at a larger size and produce more eggs per gram of body mass than lobsters in the fishery. Peak egg production occurs earlier in larger lobsters than in small ones. Establishing a fundamental reason for the differences between lobster reproduction in the sanctuary and that in the fishery is not possible until the chronological age of lobsters can be determined, but one hypothesis consistent with these differences is that, if lobsters reproduce at a certain chronological age, then sublethal fishery practices may account for slower growth for some lobsters resulting in some smaller but older reproductively active lobsters.

Movements of the Spiny Lobster Panulirus argus in South Florida

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2228-2234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas R. Gregory Jr. ◽  
Ronald F. Labisky
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Patch Reef ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Deep Reef ◽  
Spiny Lobsters

Long-distance movements of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus were studied in two Gulf of Mexico habitats (Shallows, Mid-depth) and three Atlantic Ocean habitats (Shallows, Patch Reef, and Deep Reef) in the lower Florida Keys during the mid-1970's. Of 6062 spiny lobsters tagged and released at the five sites between June 1975 and August 1976, 465 of the 771 (13%) lobsters recovered yielded usable movement data. Eighty percent of the tags were recovered within the first 3 mo of the 8 mo commercial fishing season (July 26 – March 31). Directions and rates of movements differed significantly (P < 0.05) among sites. Movements from Gulf sites were generally oriented to the west and southwest, toward the Atlantic offshore reefs, at mean displacement velocities of 0.57 km/d (Mid-depth) and 0.24 km/d (Shallows). Movements of lobsters from the Atlantic sites were principally eastward and westward, parallel to the reef line and island chain, at mean displacement velocities of 0.02 km/d (Deep Reef) and 0.05 km/d (Shallows, Patch Reef). The more directed movements of spiny lobsters from Gulf sites may reflect a migration from nursery grounds to the Atlantic reefs, which not only constitute the primary spawning habitat but also exhibit a more stable winter environment than the shallow Gulf. Movements of spiny lobsters within Atlantic waters reflect localized random onshore–offshore dispersal patterns typical within reef environments.

The sensory basis of feeding behaviour in the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles D. Derby ◽  
Pascal Steullet ◽  
Amy J. Horner ◽  
Holly S. Cate
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Chemosensory Pathways ◽  
Chemosensory Systems

A complex nervous system enables spiny lobsters to have a rich behavioural repertoire. The present paper discusses the ways in which the sensory systems of the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, particularly its chemosensory systems, are involved in feeding behaviour. It addresses the neural mechanisms of three aspects of their food-finding ability: detection, identification, and discrimination of natural food odours; the effect of learning on responses to food odours; the mechanisms by which spiny lobsters orient to odours from a distance under natural flow conditions. It demonstrates that the olfactory organ of spiny lobsters might use acrossneuron response patterns in discriminating odour quality; that the hedonic value of food can be modified by experience, including associative and nonassociative conditioning; that spiny lobsters can readily orient to distant odour sources; and that both chemo- and mechanosensory antennular input are important in this behaviour. Either aesthetasc or nonaesthetasc chemosensory pathways can be used in identifying odour quality, mediating learned behaviours, and permitting orientation to the source of distant odours. Studying the neuroethology of feeding behaviour helps us understand how spiny lobsters are adapted to living in complex and variable environments.

Trap-induced mortality of the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, in Florida, USA

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Fishing Season ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Lobster Fishery

In Florida’s lobster fishery, sublegal-sized spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus, are commonly placed in traps to attract legal-sized lobsters. Many died from exposure to air during transport before the use of live wells and still die because of confinement in traps. Much of this mortality is not apparent during normal trap-fishing operations, and the magnitude of the unobserved mortality remains the subject of controversy between fishermen and fishery managers. After fishermen began using live wells in the 1987–88 fishing season, the harvest of legalsized lobsters increased. Initially, the increase was smaller than predicted, apparently because the average number of traps in the fishery increased from 576 000 during the 1977–78 to 1986–87 fishing seasons to 854 000 during the 1987–88 to 1992–93 seasons. High numbers of traps in the fishery have been implicated as contributing to increased mortality of sublegal-sized lobsters. When the average number of traps was reduced to 605 000, after the 1993–94 season, the harvest predictions attributed to live-well use were largely achieved. Observations on commercial fishing vessels were used to reevaluate previous harvest predictions and develop additional coefficients for fishing mortality related to exposure and confinement in traps.

Reproductive potential and stock recruitment of the Caribbean and Brazilian metapopulations of the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804)

Crustaceana ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 87 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1315-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Cruz ◽  
Katia C. A. Silva ◽  
João V. M. Santana ◽  
Juliana C. Gaeta ◽  
Israel H. A. Cintra
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Total Surface Area ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Brazilian Coast ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Northern Brazil

The spiny lobsterPanulirus argus(Latreille, 1804) is the most important commercial fishing resource in the western central Atlantic and Brazil. Field studies covering the waters off southwestern Cuba and northern Brazil have improved our understanding of the variations in the reproductive potential (number of eggs), stock recruitment and reproductive efficiency of spiny lobsters according to location, depth and size class. Using the spawner-recruitment model, the reproductive potential index was correlated with the index of subsequent recruitment based on field sampling. Spiny lobster habitats in deeper waters need special attention in order to protect the species from overfishing of the recruitment. Considering the longevity and absence of reproductive senility in spiny lobsters, management strategies should ideally include the creation of spawner sanctuaries (marine protected areas) capable of restoring and maintaining the biomass of the spawning stock and the establishment of a maximum catch size of 135 mm (CL) for both sexes along the entire Brazilian coast. Based on our findings, we propose to establish spiny lobster sanctuaries (50-100 m) on the continental shelf off northern Brazil, from Amapá (5°25′N 51°0′W) to the western reaches of the coast of Pará (1°11′N 46°27′W, 0°42′N 46°45′W), covering a total surface area of 64 230 km2.

Annual juvenile recruitment of spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus (Decapoda, Palinuridae), in a shallow seagrass bed and a deeper hard bottom off western Puerto Rico

Crustaceana ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-167
Author(s):  
Nilda M. Jiménez ◽  
Ernest H. Williams, Jr. ◽  
Aida Rosario
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Seagrass Beds ◽  
Caribbean Studies ◽  
Seagrass Bed ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
Habitat Difference ◽  
Early Recruitment

We found 158 juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) recruiting over a year into 10 artificial shelters in shallow (2-3 m) seagrass beds, but none recruiting into 10 shelters on deeper (approximately 10 m) hard bottom. Spiny lobster juveniles were observed at 10 m or greater depth in submerged fish cages. They may have been strained out by currents rather than naturally recruiting. A large number of these cages inshore could impede natural lobster recruitment. One of the shallow shelters recruited most (85/158) of the juveniles and two shelters recruited most of all (118/158). With no discernable natural habitat difference, we assume that early recruitment into those shelters and the “guide effect” may have been responsible for these preferences. Previous Caribbean studies found the maximum settling periods of juveniles in August to December. Our results were similar with the exception of having more recruits one month later (August to January). Shelters with covers had more juveniles than those without covers; however, this result was largely due to the preponderance of juveniles in one shelter.

scholarly journals Caribbean spiny lobsters equally avoid dead and clinically PaV1-infected conspecifics

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. i164-i169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebeca I. Candia-Zulbarán ◽  
Patricia Briones-Fourzán ◽  
Enrique Lozano-Álvarez ◽  
Cecilia Barradas-Ortiz ◽  
Fernando Negrete-Soto
Keyword(s):  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Controlled Experiment ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Subclinical Infection ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Spiny Lobsters ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Do So

Abstract Social behaviour in Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) is mediated by conspecific chemical cues. These lobsters can be attracted to shelters emanating chemical cues from conspecifics but tend to avoid shelters emanating chemical cues from injured conspecifics, dead conspecifics, and conspecifics with visible signs of a potentially lethal disease caused by the pathogenic Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1). However, previous studies have not controlled for the presence of PaV1 (i.e. subclinical infection) in grossly “healthy” lobsters, although visible signs of disease do not appear until several weeks after infection. We conducted a controlled experiment using a set of 2 m-long Y-mazes to examine and contrast the response of P. argus lobsters to shelters emanating chemical cues from conspecifics in four different conditions: uninfected, subclinically PaV1-infected (i.e. infected but not diseased), clinically PaV1-infected (i.e. infected and diseased), and dead. Using polymerase chain reaction, we tested for PaV1 in all grossly healthy lobsters and used exclusively uninfected lobsters in intermolt as focal lobsters. Focal lobsters similarly avoided shelters emanating chemical cues from clinically infected (80% avoidance) and from dead conspecifics (85% avoidance), but their response to chemical cues from uninfected and from subclinically infected conspecifics did not differ significantly from random. These results indicate that PaV1-diseased lobsters produce chemical cues that are as repellent to conspecifics as are chemicals emanating from dead conspecifics, and that subclinically infected lobsters either do not emit the repellent chemicals or they do so at sub-threshold levels. However, the nature of the repellent chemicals and whether they originate from the pathogen or the host remains to be determined.

Source and Specificity of Chemical Cues Mediating Shelter Preference of Caribbean Spiny Lobsters (Panulirus argus)

2006 ◽  
Vol 211 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy J. Horner ◽  
Scott P. Nickles ◽  
Marc J. Weissburg ◽  
Charles D. Derby
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Spiny Lobsters
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