Lobsters: Biology, Behavior and Management

Lobsters are marine decapod crustaceans belonging to a diverse array of taxa, many of which support major fisheries of great socioeconomic importance to human communities and play important roles in natural ecosystems. This book contains chapters describing studies of the larval biology, behavior and habitat preferences, and fisheries management of fished clawed and spiny lobster species. Chapter 1 attempted to use a model based on enzyme thermodynamics to estimate and compare the lower and upper threshold temperatures and intrinsic optimum temperature for the development of American lobster larvae. Chapter 2 used an inferential ecomorphological approach incorporating information on the morphology, life history, biotope, and behavior of a selection of 11 decapod species present in European waters to predict the likely natural habitat of small juvenile European lobsters, a critical life stage about which, remarkably, little is known. Chapter 3 used simulation modeling to estimate the impacts of different fisheries harvesting strategies on the catches and socioeconomic values of Caribbean spiny lobster fisheries in different nations, illustrating their sensitivity to heterogeneous fisheries management. These chapters demonstrate new approaches to the study of lobsters that can contribute important information on their biology and fisheries ecology for use in forecasting the potential impacts of changes in climate and fisheries management on their populations and the fisheries they support.