Environmental Influence on Recruitment of the American Lobster Homarus americanus: A Perspective

Abstract

Heredity determines the biological limits within which an organism can function, and environment determines whether those biological limits will be reached. When they are, biological processes essential to the recruitment cycle begin to fail, and recruitment to subsequent life stages is adversely affected. The American lobster, Homarus americanus, experiences a spectrum of environmental forces within its natural range. The most important among these are temperature and disease. These, plus anthropogenic changes, fishing pressure, and several factors with local or short-term impact, can cause stress, which is cumulative and debilitating. These factors combine to influence spawning, egg attachment, incubation success, hatching, larval development, growth, maturity, reproductive capability, and geographic distribution of the animal—major elements of the recruitment cycle.