In-situ validation of American lobster (Homarus americanus) embryo hatch time predictions based on presence and abundance of stage I larvae
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Date
2022-04
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University of New Brunswick
Abstract
Hatch time in American lobster (Homarus americanus) embryos can markedly impact larval development rates, match-mismatch with prey, dispersal, and ultimately overall success. Two temperature-dependent embryonic development functions have been proposed to predict hatch in lobsters, one linear and one exponential, but their in-situ validation has been limited. This study quantified the accuracy of these functions by comparing the hatch predictions and potential drift time of 2000 embryos sampled in the southwest Bay of Fundy to the presence and abundance of stage I larvae in the water. Predictions from several models aligned well with the observed stage I presence and abundance, supporting the use of development models to predict lobster hatch. The power function models outperformed or performed as well as the linear function models in all metrics tested, suggesting that power function models may be better suited for generating hatch predictions in southwest Bay of Fundy than linear function models.