Using Red Light with Fixed-site Video Cameras to Study the Behavior of the Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, and Associated Animals at Night and Inside Their Shelters

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard M. Weiss ◽  
Enrique Lozano-Álvarez ◽  
Patricia Briones-Fourzán ◽  
Fernando Negrete-Soto
Keyword(s):  
Defensive Behavior ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Occupancy Rate ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Moray Eel

Fixed-site video cameras can be a powerful tool for studying marine animals in the sea without disturbing their behavior. Artificial light is required to use these cameras at night or in dark places such as inside animal dens. Red light is theoretically the best choice because the eyes of many marine animals are relatively insensitive to light above 600 nm wavelength, red light penetrates water much further than infrared, and many video cameras are highly sensitive to red light. This study found that video and red light can be used at night in the sea to study the behavior of spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, without significant effects. The shelter occupancy rate of tethered lobsters was similar in continuous red light as in the dark and red light did not attract or repel free-living lobsters. Red light did attract a small additional number of fish which were already nearby the lobster shelters and did not appear to disturb the lobsters. Loss of P. argus from octopus predation was similar in red light as in the dark. Six species of predators (two triggerfishes, an octopus, two snappers, and a moray eel) were recorded on videotape killing lobsters at shelters in the sea. Predation usually occurred outside the shelters. Other species scavenged on the lobster remains after they were killed. A variety of animals frequently cohabited with lobsters inside shelters for a few minutes to several days. The interactions of these animals with the lobsters rarely involved any strong aggression or defensive behavior.

scholarly journals Directly ageing the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus with validated band counts from gastric mill ossicles

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaya Gnanalingam ◽  
Mark J Butler ◽  
Thomas R Matthews ◽  
Emily Hutchinson ◽  
Raouf Kilada
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Gastric Mill ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Reader Experience

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.

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.

In vitro digestion of protein sources by crude enzyme extracts of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804) hepatopancreas with different trypsin isoenzyme patterns

Aquaculture ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 310 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 178-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick Perera ◽  
F.J. Moyano ◽  
L. Rodriguez-Viera ◽  
A. Cervantes ◽  
G. Martínez-Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
In Vitro Digestion ◽  
Crude Enzyme ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Protein Sources ◽  
Isoenzyme Patterns

The Function of a Heteromorph Antennule in a Spiny Lobster, Panulirus Argus

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
D. M. MAYNARD ◽  
M. J. COHEN
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Intracellular Recordings ◽  
Afferent Fibre ◽  
The Third ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Withdrawal Response ◽  
Basic Similarity ◽  
Stimulation Of

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.

Ongrowing of Juvenile Spiny Lobsters, Panulirus Argus (Latreille, 1804) (Decapoda, Palinuridae), in Portable Sea Enclosures

Crustaceana ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 958-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Lozano-Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Spiny Lobster ◽  
Maximum Growth ◽  
Panulirus Argus ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
The Third ◽  
Unit Value ◽  
Mexican Caribbean ◽  
Fish Remains ◽  
Two Stages

AbstractThe spiny lobster catch from Bahia de la Ascensión, a large bay on the central coast of the Mexican Caribbean, is composed mainly of young adults and large juveniles of Panulirus argus. The fishery in this bay is based on artificial shelters called "casitas". A substantial part of the lobsters found beneath the casitas is of sublegal size (minimum size limit ~ 74 mm carapace length, CL). The possibility of ongrowing sublegal juveniles in portable sea enclosures to maximize the harvestable biomass was explored. The enclosures (3 x 3 x 1 m) were installed in shallow depths in the bay. Juveniles taken from nearby casitas were introduced in the enclosures and kept for different periods. Lobsters were fed with live molluscs and fish remains and were provided with suitable shelters. Experiments were conducted in two stages, in 1992 and 1993. Growth in size (CL) and in harvestable biomass (weight of legal-size lobsters) was examined. Maximum growth rates, lower percentages of mortality, and higher increases in harvestable biomass of lobsters were obtained after about 45 days. Confinement periods longer than 45 days resulted in reduced growth and higher mortality. Observations on lobster behaviour showed an increase in aggressive encounters and dominance displays from the third week of captivity onwards, which could be the main cause for the increase in mortality. The alternative of ongrowing sublegal juveniles for short periods (45 days), in conjuction with the casita system, could help increase the unit value of the catch.

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