for this theory comes from the fact 

 that post larvae are captured in 

 plankton samples all year round, 

 while the spawning season of Keys 

 lobsters is restricted to the period 

 March through August. Little and 

 Milano (1980) have established that 

 lobster post larval abundance peaks 

 during the spring, a time when local 

 populations are not reproductively 

 active. The larvae apparently de- 

 velop to phyllosome stage offshore 

 and subsequently move inshore as 

 transparent pueruli (Sweat 1968). 

 Here they seek shelter, and presum- 

 ably food, among the seagrasses, 

 algal beds, soft muds, and corals. 



Young post larvae grow fairly 

 rapidly. Sweat (1968) reports that, 

 in laboratory settings, days between 

 successive molts increased from 26 

 to 118 days over 18 molts. Warner 

 et al. (1976) calculated a growth 

 rate of about 5.4 mm/molt (0.2 in/ 

 molt). It is likely, however, that 

 growth rates are higher in the field 

 than in the laboratory, as evidenced 

 by a comparison of adult growth 

 rates under similar lab and field 

 conditions. Dawson and Idyll (1951) 

 estimate that commercial size lob- 

 sters increase about 2. 54 to 3.81 cm 

 (1 to 1.5 in) per year. 



A number of authors believe 

 that the adeptly camouflaged juve- 

 nile lobsters tend to inhabit the 

 inshore areas because of the in- 

 creased cover (Sutcliffe 1957, With- 

 am et al. 1968). Little and Milano 

 (1980) observe that young post lar- 

 vae are preyed upon by Portunid 

 crabs and other carnivores of the 

 inshore seagrasses. They suggest 

 that "surplus" post larval recruit- 

 ment is smoothed out by the time a 

 given year class reaches adulthood. 

 This is due to density dependent 

 mortality arising from the restric- 



ted holding capacity of the nursery 

 areas. As lobsters mature they tend 

 to move out to the deeper waters and 

 coral reefs. 



Adult lobsters are higher car- 

 nivores of the coral reef system 

 feeding on conchs ( Strombus raninus , 

 S. gigas ), other mollusks, and 

 hermit crabs (Hernkind 1975, Davis 

 1975). At densities observed by 

 Davis (1977), the lobster population 

 apparently comprises a major frac- 

 tion of the resident carnivore bio- 

 mass of the reef. The lobster is a 

 nocturnal creature, feeding and 

 foraging primarily in the early 

 hours of the evening in winter and 

 gradually extending the duration of 

 its nightly activities during the 

 spring and summer months. During 

 the day, lobsters hole up in dens or 

 lairs, seeking protection and cover. 

 They may occassionally be found dur- 

 ing daylight hours by watching for 

 the conspicuous antennae protruding 

 from the rock crevices. 



The movements of adult lobsters 

 occur in two general patterns: (1) 

 random movements of individual lob- 

 sters; and (2) mass migration by 

 queues, or chains of lobsters rang- 

 ing anywhere from a few to thousands 

 of individuals at one time. Release 

 and recovery of tagged individuals 

 suggests that adults moving singu- 

 larly do not travel very far or fast 

 (Dawson and Idyll 1951, Little 

 1972). Average distance traveled by 

 tagged and recovered adults is 

 reported to be 15.6 km (9.7 miles) 

 (Dawson and Idyll 1951) and 9.8 km 

 (6.1 miles) (Little 1972). Around 

 90% of the recovered adults are 

 found within 32 km (20 mi) and 20 

 weeks of the release site and date. 

 Little (1972) observes that the 

 predominant movement of released 

 lobsters is south toward the outer 



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