Can hatch time of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) be accurately predicted using embryos raised detached from a female’s brood?
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Date
2024-08
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University of New Brunswick
Abstract
Hatch time affects the biotic and abiotic conditions experienced by larvae and, hence, their success. In Canada, hatch of American lobster (Homarus americanus) is challenging to directly monitor, because it occurs outside fishing seasons. An alternative to direct observation is the use of temperature-based functions of embryo development, although the large size of females limits the number of individuals that can simultaneously be housed in a lab to develop such functions. To address this constraint, I compared the development and hatch of embryos raised in the laboratory attached or detached from the brood of 28 female lobsters from the Bay of Fundy. No significant differences were found in mean hatch date, size at hatch, or development rate of attached versus detached embryos, indicating that embryos raised separated from a female’s brood can be used to accurately predict hatch time in American lobster, or study other aspects of their embryos’ development.