(associated characteristics) or is the 

 result of differential mortality within 

 the estuary. 



Spin y Lobster 



Juvenile spiny lobsters ( Panul irus 

 argus ) are coimnonly found in nearshore 

 seagrass nursery areas of Biscayne Bay, 

 Florida (Eldred at al. 1P72); the Carib- 

 bean (Olsen et al . 1975; Peacock 1974); 

 and Brazil (Moura and Costa 1966; Costa 

 etal. 1969). In south Florida these 

 inshore nursery areas are largely limited 

 to clear, near-normal oceanic salinity 

 waters of the outer margin of Florida Bay, 

 the Florida reef tract, and the coastal 

 lagoons. Tabb and Manning (1961) noted 

 that the spiny lobster is rare on the 

 muddy botto-ns in northern Florida Bay. 



Residence time in shallow grassy 

 areas is estimated at about 9 to 12 months 

 (Eldred et ,il . 1972; Costa et al . 1969) 

 after which time the small lobsters (cara- 

 pace length typically less than 60 mm) 

 take up residence on small shallow water 

 patch reefs. On the reefs, the lobsters 

 live gregariously during the day while 

 foraging at night over adjacent grass and 

 sand flats. With maturity (1.5 to 2.0 

 years. Peacock 1974; up to 3 years in 

 Florida, Simmons 1980) mating occurs and 

 females migrate to deeper offshore reefs 

 to release larvae (Little 1977; Cooper 

 et al . 1975) and then return. Reproduc- 

 tive activity occurs throughout the year 

 in Florida waters, but is concentrated 

 during March through July (Menzies and 

 Kerrigan 1980). 



Theories differ about where the lar- 

 vae which recruit into south Florida 

 inshore nurseries originate. The question 

 is of great importance to the management 

 of this fishery. Once released alono 

 Florida's offshore reefs, the larvae 

 (phyllosomes) drift with the current dur- 

 ing a planktonic stage of undetennined 

 length; estimates range from 3 months to 1 

 year (Simmons 1980). Controlled vertical 

 movements in the water column may allow 

 the larvae to remain in the area of hatch- 

 ing via eddies, layered countercurrents 

 or other localized irregularities in the 

 movements of the v/ater (Simmons 1980). Al- 

 ternatively, larger scale countercurrents 

 and gyres may allow for larval development 



v^hile still returning the larvae to south 

 Florida waters (Menzies and Kerrigan 

 1980). It has also been suggested by <^ims 

 and Ingle (1966) that larvae recruited to 

 south Florida nursery areas may have been 

 spawned in locations south of the Yucatan 

 Channel, perhaps as distant as the Leser 

 Antilles or Brazil, and deposited ready 

 for settlement by oceanic currents in 

 south Florida waters. Ongoing studies of 

 protein variation as a reflection of gene- 

 tic variation between adult populations 

 and puerili postlarvae are designed to 

 determine if Florida spiny lobsters origi- 

 nate within Florida's waters or are re- 

 cruited from adult population centers 

 elsewhere (Menzies and Kerrioan 1<^70, 

 197^, 1980). 



Phyllosomes that survive their plank- 

 tonic existence recruit into the nursery 

 areas as puerulus lobsters (postlarvae) 

 that resemble adults in form, but are 

 transparent. The postlarvae swim toward 

 shore at night and burrow in the bottom by 

 day until they reach inshore seagrass nur- 

 series, where they gradually become pig- 

 mented (Johnson 1C!74; Serflino and Ford 

 1975; Simmons 1980). Recruitment takes 

 place throughout the year in south Florida 

 with peak influxes usually between Febru- 

 ary and June and between September and 

 December (Eldred et al. 1972; Witham 

 et al. 1968; Sweat 1968). This pattern 

 may be less pronounced in the lower Flor- 

 ida Keys where high summer influxes have 

 also been noted (Little 1977). A summer 

 peak in abundance was also noted in the 

 Less Antilles (Peacock 1974). Greatest 

 monthly recruitment takes place between 

 new and first quarter moon (Little 1977). 



There is some evidence to suggest 

 that pueruli first settle temporarily 

 above the bottom on algal mats, mangrove 

 prop roots, or on floating algal rafts 

 (Smith etal. 1950; Lewis 'etal. 1952; 

 Witham et al . 1953; Sweat 1968; Little 

 1977). Peacock (1974), working in Antiqua 

 and Barbados, noted that no pueruli were 

 collected from within the grass bed in 

 the lagoon where juveniles were present, 

 but were collected commonly from the 

 prop roots of mangroves lining its en- 

 trance. After the puerulus molts, the 

 body of the young lobster is heavily pig- 

 mented. At this time it assumes a demer- 

 sal behavior in the nursery (Eldred et al . 



81 



