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Survival Of Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobster: Effects Of Shelter Size, Geographic Location And Conspecific Abundance, Jd Mintz, Rom Lipcius, Db Eggleson, Ms Seebo

VIMS Articles

The Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus seeks structured shelter throughout its benthic phase, often forming aggregations within shelters. Casitas - concrete, low-relief, artificial shelters - are effective in aggregating lobsters, and are used to harvest spiny lobster in the Caribbean. However, casitas may also enhance populations of P. argus, by providing shelter from predation. In this study we examined the effects of various shelter features upon the survival of juvenile P. argus. Juvenile lobsters were tethered at several artificial shelter treatments in Florida Bay, Florida, USA, to test the efficacy of casitas as refuge from predation. Survival of juveniles was …