W.A. Lellis
M.J. Butler
W.F. Herrnkind
J.H. Hunt
M. Pardee-Woodring
T.R. Matthews
W.C. Sharp
2000
<p class="chapter-para">To evaluate the suitability of using coded microwire tags (CWTs) to mark early-benthic-stage Caribbean spiny lobster,<span> </span><i>Panulirus argus</i>, we compared the survival, growth, and feeding of tagged and untagged lobsters held in the laboratory through the first five juvenile molts. We also examined the growth of 65 microwire-tagged lobsters released into the wild as early-benthic-stage juveniles. Tag retention rates of lobsters held in the laboratory were 86% for those tagged as first-stage juveniles and 96% for those tagged as second-stage juveniles; virtually all tag loss was confined to the first post-tag molt. Survival and growth rates of tagged second-stage juveniles in the laboratory did not significantly differ from those of untagged lobsters, but first-stage-tagged juveniles had lower growth rates than untagged lobsters did and a 25% post-tagging mortality rate. The mean growth rate of juveniles released into the wild was 0.82 mm CL/wk, but growth differed by season; no sex- or habitat-specific differences in growth were observed. Data obtained from these recaptured lobsters provide the first detailed estimates of growth of<span> </span><i>P</i>.<span> </span><i>argus</i><span> </span>under natural conditions during the earliest part of their benthic life and illustrate the potential usefulness of coded microwire tags in mark-recapture investigations of juveniles for this and other species.</p>
application/pdf
10.1163/20021975-99990067
en
Oxford University Press
The use of coded microwire tags mark-recapture studies of juvenile Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus
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