Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Marine Biology

William & Mary

Series

1992

Density-Dependent Behavior; Gregarious Behavior; Habitat Structure; Habitat Use

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Shelter Selection By Spiny Lobster Under Variable Predation Risk, Social Conditions, And Shelter Size, Db Eggleston, Rom Lipcius Jun 1992

Shelter Selection By Spiny Lobster Under Variable Predation Risk, Social Conditions, And Shelter Size, Db Eggleston, Rom Lipcius

VIMS Articles

Shelter use patterns of den dwelling Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, appear to be regulated by predation risk. The risk of predation may be modified by (1) social structure, which alters the effectiveness of communal defense, and (2) the scaling between lobster size and shelter size, which enhances the protective capacity of the den. These hypotheses were tested with field enclosure experiments using artificial lobster shelters, which examined the effects of predation risk (i.e., presence or absence of a major predator, the nurse shark Ginglyostoma cirratum), spiny lobster size, social condition (i.e., presence or absence of conspecifics), and shelter size …