Anti-Predator Behaviors of the Mediterranean Slipper Lobster, Scyllarides Latus

Authors: Barshaw, Diana E.; Spanier, Ehud

Source: Bulletin of Marine Science, Volume 55, Numbers 2-3, September 1994, pp. 375-382(8)

Publisher: University of Miami - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

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Abstract:

Mediterranean slipper lobsters were tethered inside and outside an artificial reef to test shelter-based protection against predation. Mortality was significantly lower among the lobsters in the reef (7%) compared to those in the open area (77%), indicating that sheltering is an effective protective strategy. All predation was found to occur during the daylight. Lobsters tethered in the open were observed to camouflage by placing themselves alongside rocks, thus enhancing the effectiveness of their cryptic coloration. When detected, lobsters tended to initially cling to the substrate. Gray triggerfish were observed to prey upon lobsters in the open, but were only able to kill a lobster after breaking its hold on the substrate, catching it as it tried to swim away, and biting through its ventral exoskeleton.

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Document Type: Research Article

Publication date: September 1, 1994

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The Bulletin of Marine Science is dedicated to the dissemination of high quality research from the world's oceans. All aspects of marine science are treated by the Bulletin of Marine Science, including papers in marine biology, biological oceanography, fisheries, marine affairs, applied marine physics, marine geology and geophysics, marine and atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology and physical oceanography.
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