Historical Review of Lobster Life History Terminology and Proposed Modifications To Current Schemes

Crustaceana ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 594-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lawton ◽  
Kari L. Lavalli
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Behavioral Attributes ◽  
Developmental Phases ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Current Terminology

AbstractTerms for the life history and developmental phases of the American lobster, Homarus americanus, vary substantially and have been frequently revised (Cobb et al., 1983; Hudon, 1987; Barshaw & Bryant-Rich, 1988; Wahle & Steneck, 1991; Cobb & Wahle, 1994). Their evolution shows several trends: (1) acknowledgement of pronounced morphological, physiological, and behavioral changes accompanying a metamorphic molt into the fourth pelagic stage; (2) recognition of behavioral changes (facilitated by decreasing mortality risk) leading to increased vagility over the size range ~ 5 to 40 mm carapace length (CL), and (3) consideration of the impact of reproductive maturation on lobster movement and social interaction. Before further modifying current terminological schemes (Wahle & Steneck, 1991; Cobb & Wahle, 1994), a historical perspective is provided and problems with existing schemes are presented. Our proposed scheme, which better integrates ecological ontogeny with developmental, biological, and individual behavioral attributes, partitions the life history into seven phases (exclusive of the attached egg and prelarval stages): pelagic larval, postlarval, shelter-restricted juvenile, emergent juvenile, vagile juvenile, adolescent, and adult. It should also provide a template from which to standardize life history schemes for spiny lobsters where there are similar problems with current terminology.

Spatial and Temporal Overlap of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) and Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) as Related to the impact of Inshore Scallop Dragging

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 1486-1492 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Roddick ◽  
R. J. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
The Other ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Placopecten Magellanicus ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Sea Scallop ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Temporal Overlap

Assessment of the damage of one fishery by another requires knowledge of the overlap, in time and space, of the damaging fishing effort and the abundance of the damaged species, as well as a measure of the rate of damage. This approach was used to measure the impact of inshore scallop dragging on lobsters in Nova Scotia. Areas of reported co-occurrence of lobster and scallop grounds were surveyed by divers to determine the extent of overlap. Only 2 of 52 sites surveyed had lobsters on scallop grounds that could be dragged. Divers surveyed one site six times during 1987 and 1988 and found lobsters most abundant during August and September. Only 2% of the lobsters in the path of scallop drags were either captured or injured. The estimated value of lobsters destroyed by dragging for scallops during periods of peak lobster abundance was minor: $757 at one site and $176 at the other. Restricting dragging to periods of low lobster abundance significantly reduces this cost.

Relative growth, life-history phases, and sexual maturity of American lobster (Homarus americanus)

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Émond ◽  
Bernard Sainte-Marie ◽  
Louise Gendron
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Growth Phases ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Cephalothorax Length

Previous studies of relative growth in crustaceans have focused primarily on body parts representing sexual characters for the purpose of determining size at onset of sexual maturity. We have revisited the relative growth of abdomen and crusher claw in American lobster ( Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837) in a general life-history perspective using a broad spectrum of lobster sizes (6–160 mm cephalothorax length (CL)). Growth phases were recognized by inflections in scatterplots of a body-part measurement against CL. The abdomen is characterized by three growth phases in the male and female, whereas the crusher claw has at least three growth phases in the male and at least two in the female. Additionally, we explored relative growth of gonopod and vas deferens for males of 35–150 mm CL. Both organs exhibit a synchronous change from strong to weak positive growth allometry. The growth phases can be associated with major life-history events including the transition from a cryptic to an overt lifestyle and the onset of physiological, functional, and morphometric maturity. The onset of morphometric maturation inferred from relative growth of abdomen and crusher claw precedes functional maturity in females and follows it in males.

Geographic Distribution and Seasonal Occurrence of the Nemertean Pseudocarcinonemertes homari on the American Lobster, Homarus americanus

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Brattey ◽  
A. Campbell ◽  
A. E. Bagnall ◽  
L. S. Uhazy
Keyword(s):  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Intensity Of Infection ◽  
Egg Masses ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Egg Incubation ◽  
The Impact

Examination of 1041 trap-caught lobsters from the Bay of Fundy, Grand Manan, Browns and German Banks, south and east Nova Scotia, and Northumberland Strait indicated that Pseudocarcinonemertes homari occurs on American lobsters, Homarus americanus, throughout Canadian Maritime waters. Male lobsters were rarely infected and ovigerous females generally had a higher prevalence (percentage infected) and mean intensity of infection (number of nemerteans per infected lobster) than nonovigerous females. Sexually immature nemerteans were found on male and nonovigerous female lobsters, but all P. homari life history stages including brood sacs occurred on ovigerous lobsters. No seasonal trends were evident on ovigerous lobsters caught near Grand Manan; prevalence was consistently high (60–93%) and mean intensity ± SE was variable (15 ± 4.0 to 86 ± 63.1). The nemertean developed to maturity on ovigerous lobsters, reproduced on the host egg masses throughout the year, and appeared to produce three generations during a lobster egg incubation period. When lobsters completed egg incubation, nemertean reproduction ceased and some nemerteans either died, left the lobster, or perhaps were shed at molting. Prevalence and mean intensity increased with the size of ovigerous lobsters, and the distribution of nemerteans among ovigerous lobsters was highly aggregated. Ovigerous lobsters infected with >200 nemerteans had extensively damaged egg masses, but were rarely encountered (5 of 291). The impact of P. homari on the egg mortality of wild populations of H. americanus is unknown.

Evidence that mud seafloor serves as recruitment habitat for settling and early benthic phase of the American lobster Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 594-601
Author(s):  
Kristin M Dinning ◽  
Rémy Rochette
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Differential Growth ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current Potential ◽  
Important Habitat

Abstract Structurally complex cobble seafloor protects against predators, and is generally assumed to be the only meaningful habitat for settlement and benthic recruitment of American lobsters (Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837). Accordingly, historical surveys on featureless substrates such as mud have found few and only older juveniles. Mud, however, is far more common than cobble across the lobster’s range, and may be of increasing importance in regions where the lobster population has been growing over the past few decades. As a first step to determining whether mud seafloor serves as meaningful recruitment habitat for juvenile lobsters, we deployed artificial habitats (bio-collectors) at five locations varying from 100% mud to mostly cobble, in Maces Bay, Bay of Fundy, NB, Canada, to capture young lobsters. A broad size range of lobsters, from new settlers up to adolescents, colonized bio-collectors in all locations, suggesting that lobsters settle and spend at least some of their juvenile life on mud. Differences in body condition (length-standardized mass) of lobsters sampled from the different locations suggest that some individuals must reside on mud for at least months to years, long enough to show differential growth between habitats. The greater relative abundance of adolescents in bio-collectors on mud also suggests their net movement from densely populated cobble beds into mud habitat. We propose that mud seafloor may be a more important habitat for settlement and early survival of American lobsters than is currently appreciated, especially given the current potential saturation of scarce cobble nursery habitat by growing lobster populations and, in some regions, reduced predation on mud seafloor due to overfishing of groundfish.

scholarly journals The impact of harvesting location on the physiological indicators of the American lobster (Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda: Nephropidae) during live storage

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Fraser Clark ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
Adam R. Acorn ◽  
John J. Garland ◽  
Sarah E. Stewart-Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Physiological Indicators ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Hemocyte Health Status Based on Four Biomarkers to Assess Recovery Capacity in American Lobster (Homarus americanus) After Exposure to Marine Diesel and Diluted Bitumen

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 370
Author(s):  
Camille Berthod ◽  
Marie-Hélène Bénard-Déraspe ◽  
Jean-François Laplante ◽  
Nicolas Lemaire ◽  
Madeleine Nadeau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Recovery Period ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Homarus Americanus ◽  
Petroleum Products ◽  
American Lobster ◽  
Recovery Capacity ◽  
Marine Diesel ◽  
Lysosomal Stability ◽  
Cold Lake ◽  
The Impact

The growing transportation of petroleum products pose a significant risk of marine diesel or diluted bitumen (dilbit) spills at sea. Despite the economic importance of the American lobster, there have been few studies assessing the impact study of such a spill on their population. In the lobster industry, lobster quality is monitored according to the Brix index of hemolymph. In our research, the effectiveness of three other biomarkers operative in the industry was assessed in hemolymph during contamination (over 96 h) by marine diesel and dilbit (Cold Lake Blend; CLB), as well as in the subsequent recovery period, according to two temperature cycles. At the end of the experiment, chemical and tainting assays were performed. Our results demonstrate that, among the four tested biomarkers, lysosomal stability and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) induction exhibit higher sensitivity. Increasing the temperature did not shorten the recovery period. Viability cellular impacts were greater in lobsters exposed to dilbit than that in those exposed to marine diesel. Marine diesel exposure appears to be more problematic for the lobster fishery, as the cooked lobster meat still presented a hydrocarbon odor even after 3 months of live holding. Finally, the high PAH concentrations measured in lobster eggs suggest potential adverse transgenerational effects of marine diesel exposure.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document