Seasonal and sexual differences in the thermal preferences and movements of American lobsters

Thermal preferences of lobsters (Homarus americanus) were determined in the laboratory and compared with seasonal movements and distribution of lobsters in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. Lobsters preferred 11.0 ± 0.6 °C, or 2.8 ± 0.7 °C warmer than ambient temperature, during the colder months of the year. However, during the warmer months they selected 15.7 ± 0.4 °C, which was 0.2 ± 0.4 °C warmer than the ambient temperature. Overall, the lobsters tested had a final preferred temperature of 15.9 °C, and males selected warmer temperatures than females. Catch per unit effort was highest at sites where temperatures were similar to the temperatures lobsters preferred in the laboratory studies and lowest at sites ≥18 °C or <12 °C. Significantly more males than females were captured in areas with temperatures >16 °C. Lobsters tagged, and subsequently recaptured within 7–35 days, moved relatively little when released into areas where temperatures were similar to their preferred temperatures. Thermal preferences may influence the movement of lobsters in thermally heterogeneous habitats, and climate change is expected to have a major impact on lobster distribution, especially in estuarine and coastal habitats.

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Temperature Preference and Avoidance Responses of the Crayfish, Orconectes obscurus, and Associated Statistical Problems

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f82-078 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 548-553 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Dilip Mathur ◽

Robert M. Schutsky ◽

Edmund J. Purdy Jr.

Keyword(s):

Acclimation Temperature ◽

Published Data ◽

Temperature Preference ◽

Preferred Temperature ◽

Field Collection ◽

Method Of Calculation ◽

Final Preferred Temperature ◽

Statistical Problems ◽

Avoidance Responses

Acute temperature selection and avoidance responses of the crayfish, Orconectes obscurus, acclimated at field collection temperatures of 1.5–26.0 °C and determined in a spatial thermal gradient, were similar to those noted for fishes. Acclimation temperature was positively correlated with the acute preferred and avoided temperatures; both were several degrees higher than the acclimation temperature. A large proportion of the total variance in these data was unexplained. Most variable responses occurred at low acclimation temperatures. The estimated final preferred temperature ranged from 29.8 to 33.9 °C depending upon the method of calculation. Methods of estimating final preferenda from acute tests are considered arbitrary due to statistical problems and the associated high variability. Statistical problems were also noted in the determination of avoidance temperatures of crayfish due to nonindependence of observations on the same organism. No differences were noted (P < 0.05) between the preferred or avoided temperatures when the direction of field temperatures was rising or falling. A statistical comparison of the new and published data on this species revealed general similarities, particularly over an acclimation temperature range of 18.0–30.0 °C. The analysis minimizes the importance of site-specific studies on this species using the current acute testing methods.Key words: crayfish, temperature preference, avoidance, populational variation, statistics, experimental and statistical problems

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Preferred temperature and thermal breadth of birds wintering in peninsular Spain – the limited effect of temperature on species distribution

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1880 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Luis M. Carrascal ◽

Sara Villén-Pérez ◽

David Palomino

Keyword(s):

Species Abundance ◽

Bird Species ◽

Effect Of Temperature ◽

Response Curves ◽

Large Variability ◽

Preferred Temperature ◽

Mean Temperature ◽

The Mean ◽

Thermal Preferences ◽

Peninsular Spain

Background. Availability of environmental energy, as measured by temperature, is expected to limit the abundance and distribution of endotherms wintering at temperate latitudes. A prediction of this hypothesis is that birds should attain their highest abundances in warmer areas. However, there may be a spatial mismatch between species preferred habitats and species preferred temperatures, so some species might end-up wintering in sub-optimal thermal environments. Methods. We model the influence of minimum winter temperature on the relative abundance of 106 terrestrial bird species wintering in peninsular Spain, at 10x10 Km2 resolution, using 95%-quantile regressions. We analyze general trends across species on the shape of the response curves, the environmental preferred temperature (at which the species abundance is maximized), the mean temperature in the area of distribution and the thermal breadth (area under the abundance-temperature curve). Results. There is a large interspecific variability on the thermal preferences and specialization of species. Despite this large variability, there is a preponderance of positive relationships between species abundance and temperature, and on average species attain their maximum abundances in areas 1.9 ºC warmer than the average temperature available in peninsular Spain. The mean temperature in the area of distribution is lower than the thermal preferences of the species, although both parameters are highly correlated. Discussion. Most species prefer the warmest environments to overwinter, which suggests that temperature imposes important restrictions to birds wintering in the Iberian Peninsula. However, most individuals overwinter in locations colder than the species thermal preferences, probably reflecting a limitation of environments combining habitat and thermal preferences. Beyond these general trends, there is a high inter-specific variation in the versatility of species using the available thermal space .

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Final Preferred Temperature of Juvenile Three-Spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Inland Water Biology ◽

10.1134/s199508291901019x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 83-87

Author(s):

A. K. Smirnov ◽

E. S. Smirnova

Keyword(s):

Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽

Preferred Temperature ◽

Final Preferred Temperature

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Set-Point Displacement for Behavioural Thermoregulation in Anorexia Nervosa

Clinical Science ◽

10.1042/cs0620677 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 62 (6) ◽

pp. 677-682 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

P. Luck ◽

A. Wakeling

Keyword(s):

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Control Group ◽

Behavioural Thermoregulation ◽

Deep Body Temperature ◽

Set Point ◽

Control Subjects ◽

Preferred Temperatures ◽

High Stimulus ◽

Thermal Preferences ◽

Patients Experience

1. The temperatures of thermal stimuli which evoked a feeling of maximal pleasantness upon contact with the hands of 14 malnourished patients with anorexia nervosa and 19 control subjects have been determined. A uniform skin temperature of 35°C for all individuals studied was achieved by immersion of the subjects and patients in water at that temperature. Core temperatures of the anorexic patients were similar to those of the control subjects, but six of the patients preferred temperatures that were significantly higher than those of the control subjects. The thermal preferences of the remainder of the patients were similar to those of the control subjects. 2. The abnormally high thermal preferences of some of the anorexic patients could not be attributed to abnormal thyroid status, since values for serum free thyroxine measured in this group were similar to those obtained for the remaining patients. The abnormal responses persisted after there had been a substantial gain in the patients'weight and did not therefore appear to be directly due to malnutrition. 3. Elevation of deep body temperature produced an expected shift in preference towards lower stimulus temperatures in a sample of subjects from the control group, and in the patients who had initially preferred temperatures within the range of the controls. In the patients who had initially preferred abnormally high stimulus temperatures, however, hyperthermia produced little change in thermal preference. 4. It is suggested that an elevation in the set-point temperature for behavioural thermoregulation can occur in some patients with anorexia nervosa, and that this displacement-5-contribute to the distressing sense of cold which some patients experience.

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Laboratory Studies on the Behaviour of the Douglas-fir Beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent98953-9 ◽

1966 ◽

Vol 98 (9) ◽

pp. 953-991 ◽

Cited By ~ 62

Author(s):

M. D. Atkins

Keyword(s):

Room Temperature ◽

Douglas Fir ◽

Single Source ◽

Laboratory Studies ◽

Population Changes ◽

Dendroctonus Pseudotsugae ◽

Dry Air ◽

Light Gradient ◽

Preferred Temperatures ◽

Behavioural Types

AbstractThe behaviour of Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopk. in different physiological states was studied in relation to temperature, light, and host.Newly emerged beetles preferred temperatures near the threshold for flight. When conditioned in dry air at room temperature for 16 hours they preferred cooler temperatures.At room temperature, most newly emerged beetles settled in the brightest zone of a light gradient (55 foot-candles), although some settled in dimmer zones. If the beetles' emergence was delayed or if they were stored after emergence, more remained in the zone between 0.5 and 10 foot-candles.In light-dark tests at room temperature most newly emerged beetles were photopositive, but some were indifferent and a few were photonegative. Increasing the temperature and humidity increased the proportion of photonegative individuals. Newly emerged females oriented more directly to a single source of light than males, bur after conditioning or aging both reacted similarly.Females were separated into three behavioural types based on their reactions. Photopositive individuals flew more readily than indifferent or photonegative beetles; some photonegative females showed no inclination to fly.Photopositive females were usually host negative but photonegative females were host positive. The proportion of these behavioural types within different samples varied. A group that emerged early contained a higher incidence of photopositive host-negative individuals than a group that emerged late, or was stored for 10 days after emergence. But host-negative beetles would attack logs after starvation, flight exercise, or exposure to more attractive hosts.Host-positive females contained less fat than host-negative siblings. The decline in lipids during aging, starvation or flight thus may induce behavioural changes.There is a co-ordination of successive activities in the Douglas-fir beetle similar to that reported for aphids. The initial urge to disperse outweighs responses to host stimuli, but this balance changes as the beetles fly or as host stimuli increase. The balance between thresholds for dispersal and attack also varies in relation to the conditions under which the emerging beetles developed. Consequently, each individual behaves differently when it emerges. The behaviour of a population changes as the season progresses and from year to year owing to changes in the state of individuals and in the attractiveness of hosts.

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Thermal preference in relation to salinity in the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., with an interpretation of its significance

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z77-074 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 590-594 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

E. T. Garside ◽

D. G. Heinze ◽

S. E. Barbour

Keyword(s):

Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽

Sea Water ◽

Threespine Stickleback ◽

Acclimation Temperature ◽

Thermal Gradients ◽

Mean Values ◽

Lethal Temperatures ◽

Preferred Temperatures ◽

Thermal Preferences

Thermal preferences were determined in spacious thermal gradients of fresh water and sea water (32‰ salinity (S))for acclimations of 5, 15, and 25 °C in sea water, for samples of threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus L. Preferred temperatures increased through acclimations of 5–25 °C, with those for the freshwater tests being about 2 °C lower at each acclimation. Final preferenda were 16 and 18 °C for freshwater tests and seawater tests, respectively. The final preferendum in such haloplastic species is defined as the highest obtainable preferendum that equals acclimation temperature. A later series of disjunct preference determinations in approximately isosmotic water (10.5‰ S) for subjects acclimated to 7, 15, and 20 °C yielded mean values of 17.7, 18.2, and 18.7 °C, respectively. A final preferendum has not been designated since the samples were of separate origins. A parallel exists between these responses and the response of this and other haloplastic species in the determination of upper lethal temperatures. The immediate cause appears to be differentials in metabolic loading occasioned by l stresses.

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Thermal preferences of mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus L., and banded killifish, F. diaphanus (LeSueur), (Cyprinodontidae) in relation to thermal acclimation and salinity

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z77-154 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 55 (7) ◽

pp. 1190-1194 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

E. T. Garside ◽

G. C. Morrison

Keyword(s):

Fresh Water ◽

Fundulus Heteroclitus ◽

Sea Water ◽

Thermal Acclimation ◽

Thermal Gradients ◽

Frequency Distributions ◽

Preferred Temperatures ◽

Typical Habitat ◽

Thermal Preferences ◽

Banded Killifish

Frequency distributions corresponding to various levels of thermal acclimation from 5 to 35 °C were recorded for samples of marine mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus L., and samples of freshwater banded killifish, F. diaphanus (LeSueur), in thermal gradients formed in columns of fresh water (< 0.5‰ salinity) or sea water (32‰ salinity). Mean preferred temperatures comprised roughly parallel but irregularly inflected trends for the two series of tests, within each species. In mummichog, preferred temperatures for corresponding thermal acclimations ranged from 3 to 6 °C higher in tests conducted in sea water. In banded killifish, preferred temperatures for corresponding thermal acclimations ranged from 5 to 8 °C higher in fresh water. Thus, each species regularly preferred higher temperatures in salinity which approximated that of the typical habitat. The inference to be taken is that the unusual salinity for each species places an extraordinary osmoregulative load which influences the reactions of the fish to the series of thermal or other correlated stimuli in the gradient.

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Behavioral thermoregulation and locomotor activity of Perca flavescens

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z79-291 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 57 (11) ◽

pp. 2239-2242 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

William Wallace Reynolds ◽

Martha Elizabeth Casterlin

Keyword(s):

Locomotor Activity ◽

Yellow Perch ◽

Local Minimum ◽

Perca Flavescens ◽

Behavioral Thermoregulation ◽

Major Peak ◽

Nocturnal Activity ◽

Preferred Temperature ◽

Preferred Temperatures ◽

The Relationship

Ten yearling yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were tested individually for 3-day periods in electronic shuttleboxes to determine their diel patterns of behavioral thermoregulation and of locomotor activity relative to a natural April photoperiod, and to determine the relationship between preferred temperatures and activity. The perch exhibited a diel rhythm of preferred temperature, with a predawn minimum of 16.7 °C and a dusk maximum of 23.8 °C. The 24-h mean was 20.2 °C; the diurnal mean was 21.5 °C and the nocturnal mean was 18.5 °C. Locomotor activity (quantified as mean photocell-monitored light-beam interruptions per hour) was crepuscular, with a major peak (25 units/h) at dusk, and a smaller peak (14.4 units/h) at dawn. Nocturnal activity was slightly greater (5.3 units/h) than diurnal activity (4.4 units/h). Locomotor activity relative to temperature exhibited a local minimum (0.4–6.2 units/h) at 22.2 °C.

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A field-based investigation of behavioural interactions between invasive green crab (Carcinus maenas), rock crab (Cancer irroratus), and American lobster (Homarus americanus) in southern Newfoundland

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.8444 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e8444

Author(s):

Nicola Zargarpour ◽

Cynthia H. McKenzie ◽

Brett Favaro

Keyword(s):

Carcinus Maenas ◽

Positive Association ◽

Homarus Americanus ◽

Green Crab ◽

American Lobster ◽

Catch Per Unit Effort ◽

Cancer Irroratus ◽

Species Invasions ◽

Rock Crab ◽

Catch Rates

Marine species invasions pose a global threat to native biodiversity and commercial fisheries. The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is one of the most successful marine invaders worldwide and has, in the last decade, invaded the southern and western coastal waters of the island of Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada. Impacts of green crab on the American lobster (Homarus americanus), which are native to Newfoundland, are not well understood, particularly for interactions around deployed fishing gear. Declines in lobster catch rates in invaded systems (i.e., Placentia Bay, NL), have prompted concerns among lobster fishers that green crab are interfering with lobster catch. Here, we conducted a field experiment in a recently-invaded bay (2013) in which we deployed lobster traps pre-stocked with green crab, native rock crab (Cancer irroratus) (a procedural control), or empty (control). We compared catch per unit effort across each category, and used underwater cameras to directly observe trap performance in situ. In addition, we used SCUBA surveys to determine the correlation between ambient density of lobster and green crab in the ecosystem and the catch processes of lobster in traps. We found: (1) Regardless of the species of crab stocked, crab presence reduced the total number of lobster that attempted to enter the trap, and also reduced entry success rate, (2) lobster consumed green crab, rock crab and other lobster inside traps and (3) there was a positive association between lobster catch and ambient lobster density. Our results suggest that while there was a relationship between in-trap crab density and trap catch rates, it was not linked to the non-native/native status of the crab species.

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