| one publication added to basket [256115] | Effects of autotomy on long-term survival and growth of painted spiny lobster (Panulirus versicolor) on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Frisch, A.J.; Hobbs, J.-P.A. (2011). Effects of autotomy on long-term survival and growth of painted spiny lobster (Panulirus versicolor) on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Mar. Biol. (Berl.) 158(7): 1645-1652. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1678-7
In: Marine Biology: International Journal on Life in Oceans and Coastal Waters. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 0025-3162; e-ISSN 1432-1793, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Frisch, A.J.
- Hobbs, J.-P.A.
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| Abstract |
The effects of autotomy (shedding of appendages) on survival and growth rates of painted spiny lobster were investigated at Northwest Island (23° 18' S, 152° 43' E) during the period 2003–2006. Adult lobsters were captured, tagged, and classified as either uninjured (n = 68), minimally injured (n = 39) or moderately injured (n = 19) depending on the number and type of appendages that were autotomized during capture and handling. Six to thirty-six months after release, 86 lobsters were recaptured (mean time at large = 305 days). Recapture rates of uninjured (64.7%), minimally injured (71.8%), and moderately injured lobsters (73.7%) were not significantly different. Similarly, mean annualized growth rates of uninjured, minimally injured, and moderately injured lobsters were not significantly different. This suggests that the energetic cost of a single episode of autotomy is either negligible or exists as a trade-off with some other life history trait, such as reduced reproductive performance. These results support the use of certain management tools (e.g., size limits) that prescribe release of non-legal lobsters, regardless of their injury status. |
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