scholarly journals Regional characterisation of hard‐bottom nursery habitat for juvenile Caribbean spiny lobster(Panulirus argus)using rapid assessment techniques

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney D. Bertelsen ◽  
Mark J. Butler ◽  
William F. Herrnkind ◽  
John H. Hunt
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 ◽  
...  

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.


Crustaceana ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Cruz ◽  
Carlos A. Borda

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.


Aquaculture ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 310 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 178-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick Perera ◽  
F.J. Moyano ◽  
L. Rodriguez-Viera ◽  
A. Cervantes ◽  
G. Martínez-Rodríguez ◽  
...  

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
D. M. MAYNARD ◽  
M. J. COHEN

1. The effects of electrical and mechanical stimulation upon a ‘naturally occurring’ heteromorph appendage growing in place of one eyestalk in Panulirus argus were examined. The heteromorph resembled the outer flagellum of the antennule in form. 2. Heteromorph stimulation elicited both a generalized withdrawal response, and a specific depression of the third segment and flagellum of the ipsilateral antennule. Such a depression response was also elicited upon stimulation of the ipsilateral outer flagellum of the normal antennule and by no other input investigated. 3. The basic similarity of the two responses was confirmed by electromyography and by intracellular recordings from motor neurons and interneurons within the lobster brain. 4. It was concluded that at least one afferent fibre component from the heteromorph and normal flagellum terminated upon the same interneuron pools, while avoiding others, and that consequently these observations provide evidence for the formation of functional inter-neuronal connexions according to type specificity.


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Childress ◽  
William F. Herrnkind

Spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) commonly share crevice shelters with conspecifics, a behaviour usually hypothesized to benefit mutually cooperative defenders through reduced predation risk. The group-defence hypothesis predicts a suite of distinct corollary life history traits and ecological correlates including more frequent co-denning than solitary denning, especially where predators or den competitors are numerous and when the lobsters are small, moulting or otherwise vulnerable. Two alternative co-denning hypotheses, the dilution effect (a type of selfish herding) and the guide effect (attraction to a denned conspecific), have different and distinctive sets of predictions. To test among these hypotheses, the den-sharing patterns of newly emerged postalgal juveniles of Panulirus argus and associated ecological conditions in the Florida Bay (USA) nursery habitat were examined. Only half of the juveniles shared dens, and rarely was den sharing in an area greater than that expected by chance. Den-sharing frequency was most highly correlated with conspecific density and scarcity of local dens. The lack of correlation between den sharing and lobster size, moult condition, shelter type and predator density failed to support either the group-defence or the dilution-effect hypothesis. Instead, the data better support the guide-effect hypothesis.


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