ception of stage IV larvae from Charlestown, R.I. (Bibb and 

 Hersey 5 ). 



Associated Species 



In addition to lobster larvae, 15 invertebrate species and 12 

 fish species have been identified from summer neuston tows 

 (Table 3). Although quantitative data are not available, Cancer 

 spp. megalopa and the copepod Calanus finmarchicus ap- 

 peared to be the most abundant invertebrates. Dominant lar- 

 val and juvenile fish during 1979 were Enchelyopus cimbrius, 

 Urophycis spp., Vivaria subbifurcata, and Tautogolabrus 

 adspersus. 



DISCUSSION 



Figure 4. — Dendogram of stage composition in New England lobster larvae 

 studies. Percent stage composition (clustered variable) obtained from reports in 

 this volume and personal communication with investigators; additional data ob- 

 tained from Sherman and Lewis (1967) and Lund and Stewart (1970). 



The periods of occurrence of lobster larvae in the Hampton- 

 Seabrook area generally agree with that reported elsewhere 

 (Wilder 1953; Scarratt 1964, 1973; Lund and Stewart 1970; 

 Sherman and Lewis 1967). Peak densities occurred between 1 

 and 2 mo later than that found in southern New England 

 (Lund and Stewart 1970) but agreed with Canadian studies 

 (Wilder 1953; Scarratt 1964, 1973). 



Table 2. — Mean total length and range (mm) of lobster larvae from Hampton, N. H., compared with larvae from Canadian and southern 



New England waters. 



Stage I 



Stage II 



Stage 111 



Stage IV 



Hampton, N.H. (this study)' 

 Northumberland Strait, Can. (Wilder 1953) 

 Northumberland Strait, Can. (Wilder 1953; 



computed from Templeman 1936) 

 Woods Hole, Mass. (Herrick 1896) 

 Wickford, R.I. (Hadley 1906) 

 Southern New England (Rogers et al. 1968) 

 Inshore 

 Offshore 

 Charlestown, R.I. (Bibb and Hersey 1979; 



see text footnote 4) 



9.1 (7.6-10.7) 



7.5 

 7.8(7.5-8.0) 



8.3 

 8.6 



7.9(6.5-10.0) 



9.2(8.3-10.2) 

 9.6 



10.4 

 10.8 



9.5(8.0-11.0) 



13.8(13.5-14.0) 



11.1(10-12) 



11.4 



12.9 

 13.1 



12.1 (10.5-14.0) 



16.7(13.6-22.0) 



14.4 



14.6 



12.6(11-14) 



13.5 



15.6 

 15.9 



16.3(14.0-19.5) 



'Number measured by stage: 26(1), 1(11), 2(111), 162(IV); stages I-III, 1979 data only; stage IV, 1978-79. 

 ! — Data not available. 



Table 3. 



-Species associated with lobster larvae in neuston collections from the 

 vicinity of Hampton. N.H. 



Cnidaria 



Hydrozoa 

 Bougainvillia sp. 

 Halitholus cirratus 

 Scyphozoa 

 Cyanea capillata 

 Arthropoda 

 Copepoda 

 Anomalocera opalus 

 Calanus finmarchicus 

 Caligus (elongatal) 

 Mysidacea 

 Neomys'is americana 

 Isopoda 



Idolea balthicu 

 Amphipoda 



Caltiopius laeviusculus 

 Gamrnarus lawrencianus 

 Paralhemislo gaudichuudi 



Decapoda 



Cancer spp. (zoeae, megalopa) 



Carcinas maenas (zoeae, megalopa) 



Pagurus arcuatusl (zoeae) 



P. longicarpus 

 Chordata 

 Pisces 



Cycloplerus lumpus 



Enchelyopus cimbrius 



Gasterosteus aculeatus 



Liparis (atlaniicusl) 



Pepriius rriacamhus 



Pseudopleuronecles americanus 



Scomber scombrus 



Scophlhalmus aquosus 



Syngnalhus fuscus 



Tautogolabrus adspersus 



Vivaria subbifurcata 



Urophycis sp(p). 



Stage composition of lobster larvae in 1973 and 1978 was 

 heavily weighted toward stage IV larvae with few intermediate 

 stages present. Stage I larvae have been dominant in Canadian 

 studies, composing between 72 and 95°7o of the larvae col- 

 lected (Wilder 1953; Scarratt 1968, 1969, 1973). Stage IV 

 larvae never composed more than 7.5% of total larval 

 abundance in Canadian studies. The other New England 

 studies described in this report generally showed higher 

 percentages of stage II and III larvae or very high contri- 

 butions by stage I larvae. 



The 1973 and 1978 data suggest that recruitment of juvenile 

 lobsters in the Hampton-Seabrook area may not be dependent 

 upon a local spawning population. Three lines of evidence 

 tend to support this contention: 1) Stage composition showed 

 low proportions of stage I-III, relative to stage IV, indicating 



'Bibb, B.C.and R. Hersey. 1979. Distribution and abundance of lobster larvae 

 in Block Island Sound, 1978. Raytheon Co., 88 p. Prepared for New England 

 Power Co. 



55 



