Friday, March 8, 2013

Exploring lobster

Day one our group went out to Booth Bay, Maine.  We made a stop at a marine research center and our tour guide took us to the wet lab.  In the wet lab we got to look and touch many different crustations and fish.  There were starfish, sea cucumbers, sea horses, crabs, lobsters, oysters, and even small cat sharks.  She specifically showed us two very rare lobsters, a blue lobster and a split lobster.  All lobsters have red, yellow, and blue pigments.  The majority turn out with a even mix of the three which result in a brownish color but sometime there is a mutation in which one pigment produces more than the others. This results in different colored lobsters.






















On day two the group headed to Portland, Maine.  We stopped at the Harbor Fish Market where the fishermen drop off their catch when they come in from a trip.  The fish market had all fresh fish, live crabs, and live lobsters.  This was a great business where all the produce are caught by local fisherman and sold directly.








Harbor Fish Market

Mackerel
At the Harbor Fish Market in Portland, Maine, we got to see various types of fish, lobsters and other crustaceans. Above are North Atlantic Mackerel. It was interesting to see the final stage in the process of catching and selling fish. Some of the fish were whole, while in the cases the fish was already cut into filets.

Maine's Lobster Fishing

In this photo, Jim shows the group the basics of sorting lobsters. The group spent part of the day looking at Jim's company, which he processes and ships the lobsters that he catches. We later went to his wharf and he showed us his boat and also the instruments that he uses to catch the lobsters.

This picture was taken at the Harbor Fish Market, where we spent some of the day at when we were in Portland. The fish market gave us a look at what "fresh" meant to people that live in fishing communities. The seafood products that were being sold were just recently caught and taken from the boats to the markets without many steps between. The boats that caught the fish were docked right outside of the market.  The market showed the array of different species of fish and other sea life that Maine has to offer.

Connor Dever photo blog

This is a picture of a 46' lobster boat in Harpswell, Maine. We took off very early in the morning to head for the rocky Maine coast. There are all different types of lobster boats for the different businesses.


Here is a picture of some striped bass sitting in ice at a fish market called harbor fish market in Portland, Maine. Not only does Maine base it's fishing industry solely off of lobster, but there are many other fish and seafood to be sold to boost the local economy.



Lobster Adventures


This photo is was taken at a lobster pound named Pots Harbor Lobster on the coast of Maine on our trip on Wednesday. At the lobster pound we learned about how the lobster was caught and brought into the pound and distributed out to buyers of the lobsters. Jim, the owner of the lobster pound, was sorting lobsters when we met him and had some very interesting things to say to the group about his daily job.


This picture was taken at a Marine Research Center in Booth Bay, Maine. At the research center, we learned about some more statistical things about lobsters such as pounds caught throughout the years. Also we got to go to an aquarium and see many lobsters and different types of fish, such as the blue lobster in the photo above. At this aquarium, there were many interesting types of lobster. The women who was in charge of the wet lab showed us a 20 pound lobster.


This photo was taken at the Harbor Fish Market in downtown Portland, Maine. At this fish market they sold lots of lobster and lots of fish. This picture is of some haddock about to be to sold to some customers.







Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Trip to Maine

One of two 20 pound lobsters
Today we went to Maine to learn more about lobsters from people first hand. These photos are both from the Department of Marine Research wet lab, in Boothbay, where there were many different types of lobsters, and other crustaceans. In the lab, we had time on our own to see all the different animals being kept. It was great to see and learn about lobsters outside of just researching online. The wet lab was one of my favorite stops because it was interactive and a great chance to take a closer look at the lobsters. 
Calico lobster

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Global Warming and Lobsters

How does warm water effect a lobster?
- Lobsters are dramatically effected by temperature changes in the water. Due to the green house gases and what is known as global warming, the water in the north atlantic and around the world has become much warmer than it was 20-30 years ago. Lobsters can become mentally stressed due to the warmer water and due to the stress, their meat has become less tender. 

How does the warm water effect the fisherman of the northeast?
- The warm water that has been occurring in the north Atlantic has both pros and cons. Pros being, that the warm water tends to excite lobsters to mate and also to grow larger because food is more abundant. The cons being, that the warm waters put stress on the lobster and decreases the quality of the meat that the lobsters have, and because of this, the lobsters sell for a much lower price. 

How does this effect the rest of the oceans ecosystem? 
- Lobsters are far from extinct but with the rapid increase in water temperatures, they may not be able to survive in the temperatures that are approaching at an alarming rate. The loss of a species in an ecosystem throws the entire community out of balance because populations of certain species will flourish and others will dwindle. The lobster eats mostly clams and oysters, the lobster is eaten by trigger fish. Therefore, the population of clams will increase most likely and the population of trigger fish will decrease. This process will run all of the way through the food chain because one of the numbers in the equation is gone, Lobsters. 

What should people be aware of? 
- People should understand that global warming is something that we, as humans, are in complete control of. It should be known that what is happening in our atmosphere is directly affecting the ocean and that we are not only drastically changing what is happening on land but we are also changing the living conditions for organisms in the ocean. The ocean plays the largest role in the homoeostasis of earth and that if the ocean is not in a healthy state that the rest of the earth will not be either. Being eco- friendly will not only spare the delicious lobster that we love so much but it will also spare the rest of the ocean with it. 

Global Warming Affecting Lobsters

How are warm waters affecting lobster populations?
This year Maine had a huge increase in lobster population.  As the water heats up the lobsters reproducing more quickly and hatching earlier.  The warmer waters, along with over fishing, have also depleted the population of cod.  Cod eat lobsters, so if there are no Cod, there is nothing to eat the lobsters.  This has created the cycle to be unbalanced and lobsters have become abundant.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/states-lobster-explosion-an-economic-boon-biodiversity-bust_2012-11-29.html?pagenum=1


Why could the growing lobster population be bad for fisherman?
With the lobster population growing in gulf of Maine, there is plenty to catch.  This large supply pushed the prices for lobster down.  It became very hard for fishermen to profit from even big catches because the prices were so low.
http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/climate_change/effects_on_ocean_animals.php



Why is the growing lobster population bad for lobsters?
The growing lobster population is becoming a problem for a few reasons.  First, higher water temperatures increase the spread of shell disease.  This is bad for a big lobster population because the disease could quickly spread and kill off all the lobsters in the area.  Second, if water temperatures stay too warm for too long, lobsters do not take enough time off from growing to reproduce.  The lobsters become very stressed in warmer waters and do not have enough oxygen to do everything that needs to be done.  This can result in both death of the lobster, and inability to reproduce.  Though the population is great now, in the future it may deplete very quickly.  Last, lobsters have been resulting to cannibalism.  Lobsters are known to eat each other when stored tightly packed together, this is why their claws must be banded.  In the gulf of Main, with the growing population, there has also been a decrease in large fish.  With the ecosystem mostly made up of small fish, lobsters do not have enough to eat and have resorted to eating smaller lobsters that are very abundant.

http://magblog.audubon.org/lobster-populations-boom-are-they-set-crash

Is global warming affecting the lobster quality?
There have been many reports of increased catches of soft shell lobsters.  Soft shell lobsters are lobsters that have recently molted and are in the process of growing a new, bigger shell.  The problem with soft shell lobsters is that they have less meat and lobstermen do not get as much money for them as they would for a hard shell lobster.  Soft shells are also harder to transport because they die much quicker.  The increase in soft shell catches may be a result of the faster reproduction and molting process that is caused by warm water temperatures.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/02/soft-shell-lobster-prices_n_1643796.html





Global warming and lobsters

1. How does warm water affect the way lobsters live?

Since lobsters are cold-blooded animals, warmer water temperatures cause lobsters to use more energy for breathing which causes lobsters to have less energy for feeding, growth, energy storage, immune response and reproduction.

http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/climate_change/effects_on_ocean_animals.php



2. How does warmer water affect where lobsters live?
The temperature of the ocean relates to where lobsters live. If the water temps around Rhode Island and Mass are above average, the lobsters will migrate to the North into the bay of fundy near Nova Scotia. 
http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/climate_change/effects_on_ocean_animals.php

3. Does warm water cause any biological complications to lobsters? 
Yes it does. With warmer water temps in the past 20 years there has been a widespread lobster epidemic of shell disease. Since there is warmer temps, it is easier for bacteria to break down the shells easier. http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/climate_change/effects_on_ocean_animals.php

Another Downside to Global Warming


Global warming has not been the best for lobster. The warm water temperatures are killing off lobsters. In 1997, lobstermen south of Cape Cod caught more than twenty million pounds, but in 2009, they came in with less than five million pounds. Many factors go into this drop, but just a few degrees in the temperature of the water change the population. When the environment changes so much, the current species move out because they cannot tolerate the new climate. New species that are more adapted to live in the new conditions move in. With the ocean, even small increments leave big effects for sea creatures, especially the cold-water lobster. 

In the Gulf of Maine, an environment of biodiversity, disease and the effects of global warming can be dangerous because they can strike the whole ecosystem.
When the water is warmer even just by two to four degrees, the abundant populations of various fish species swim toward the warmer water. This begins to create a new ecosystem, potentially making lobsters more vulnerable to disease and also stressed by new predators.

Many lobsters had moved into the deeper, cooler waters of Vineyard Sound because of the intolerable heat on the bay where they were before. Lobster development is dependent on water temperature. They grow faster and sexually mature faster sooner in warm water. Their ideal temperature is between 53 and 64 degrees, and can detect a change of less than two degree. Lobster avoid temperatures over 66 degrees. The abundance of lobsters is good for the buyers, but not for the lobstermen and their crews. While they have come in with large hauls, the wholesale prices have become too low to pay for the equipment and fuel prices for each trip. 


Lobster with shell disease
There is a shell disease, which caused major damage to the lobster fishery in Rhode Island. This disease causes multiple problems affecting the lobsters. One is simply unappealing black spots on its shell. These spots can look like spots on a Dalmatian, but also can look like acid or cigarette burns. Another, more serious, problem is when the shell fuses to the inner membranes of the crustacean. This is a problem because it makes it impossible for the lobster to molt. Studies suggest chemical compounds that are by-products of industrial sources, such as detergents, paints, and plastics, are a cause of the disease.  

More Information/Images:









How Global Warming Affects Lobster

Does Global Warming affect when the lobsterman can fish or not?
Yes, Global Warming makes it so that the lobster season runs longer than usual and also starts earlier than usual. This is good for the lobstering industry because there is more time that the lobsterman have to make money on their boats. In 2012, the lobster season opened 2 1/2 weeks earlier than usual and ended almost a month later.

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/09/no-baloney-global-warming-creates-a-largesse-of-lobster/


How does global warming directly affect the Lobsters?
There are many ways the lobster could be affected by global warming. Lobsters like to be in warmer waters. This means that lobsters will be more spread out and up north more than they are now. Global Warming also has some bad affects on the lobsters. Global warming is Co2 in the air that is heating up earth and changing the climate. When the Co2 gets in the water, the calcium carbonate starts to go away. Coral reefs need calcium carbonate to survive and without it, they will die. Coral reefs are home to many lobsters and other sea life. Calcium carbonate is what lobsters need to harden their shells. With low amounts of calcium carbonate, they have to work very very hard to strengthen their shells. The lobsters working too hard causes them to not eat because they are too worn out.

http://oceanacidification.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/global-warming’s-impact-on-lobsters-has-scientists-in-a-stew/

Where does global warming have the most impact on lobsters?
The Gulf of Maine has seen the biggest impact on the lobsters. Scientists say that there has been a steady increase in water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine. This water temperature change has two affects on the lobsters. The first one is that the warmer water makes and increase in plankton and zooplankton, which is what lobster larva (baby lobsters) eat. This is good for the lobster larva because more of them will survive and become full grown lobsters. The second, is that the number of lobsters in the area will increase. Lobsters like warmer waters and with the water temperature rapidly increasing, lobsters will come from all over. This is great for the lobster fishing industry.

http://oceanacidification.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/global-warming’s-impact-on-lobsters-has-scientists-in-a-stew/



What does Global warming mean to the lobstering industry?
An article from 2010 says that high temperatures were killing off all of the lobsters from Long Island, NY all the way to Buzzards Bay, MA. The government threatened to shut down all lobstering in this area for 5 years because of the all time low number of lobsters. Less numbers in lobster have been trending the since 1997 when lobstermen brought in 20 million pounds of lobster as to 1998 they brought in 5 million pounds. This really has a bad affect on the lobstermen of these areas because they cannot do their jobs and make money to support themselves.

 http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100613/NEWS/6130340/-1/NEWSMAP















Biology of a lobstah

    1. How long do lobsters live for?

     The average lifespan of a lobster is about 15 years.

http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_facts/Lobsters.htm


     2. What Animal group is the lobster part of and what is it?
   The lobster is an Arthropod. An Arthropod is an animal group that has segmented bodies and the          only way that they grow is by shedding their tough outer shell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQb7Xq0enTI


    





3. How do lobsters reproduce? 


"Before molting, the female approaches a male’s den and stands outside, releasing her scent in a stream of urine. When he emerges from his den, the two spar briefly, then the female places her claws on his head to let him know she is ready to molt and mate. The male, still hard-shelled and passionate, passes his sperm into her body with a pair of rigid and grooved swimmerets, small appendages normally used for swimming." After a few weeks eggs are produced and the numbers of eggs number anywhere from 3,000-100,000!
http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/how-do-lobsters-mate-reproduce-and-lay-eggs-in-the-ocean
4. What is the largest lobster ever caught?
The 27 pound giant was caught off of the coast of Maine. Its size resembled a 3 year old child. 
http://www.buzzfeed.com/natgeo/the-10-biggest-catches-in-the-world-5n1c

Biology of Lobstars


What is molting?
Molting is basically when a lobster sheds its shell in order to grow and form a new one. It goes through a long process of creating a new exoskeleton in preparation.  When the lobster is ready to molt it will roll to its side and its shell will open on its back.  It normally takes a few minutes for the lobster to break free from its old shell.  Once it does get out a new shell will start to form over time.

Molting Video

What is the life cycle of a lobster?
Lobsters start as tiny eggs attached under their mothers tail.  When it is time for them to be released she flaps her tail in a rhythmic motion sending the newly hatched larva up to the top of the ocean.  The larva do not look like lobsters yet, but almost like little bugs.  The lobster will then molt three times at the top of the ocean.  It then begins to look more like an adult lobster.  The lobster then searches for a place on the bottom of the ocean to hide.  When it finds a place, usually hard bottom with plenty of places to hide, the lobster will stay in hiding for the first year of its life.  This is to prevent becoming prey for another animal because at this point the lobster still is small and mostly defenseless.  After the first year or so the lobster will have become an adult lobster capable to come out of hiding.







http://octopus.gma.org/lobsters/allaboutlobsters/society.html

Does every egg survive?
Every time a mother lays her eggs, she produces about 100,000 eggs.  Of every 50,000 only about 2 of these eggs will survive until they are adults.  The newly born larva are very likely to get eaten by a predator as they are mainly defenseless.


http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0854908.html

What do lobsters eat?
Lobsters prefer to eat fresh food but will scavenge if there is nothing else.  They prefer crab, but will eat many types of animals such as clams, muscles, sea urchins, or worms.  During the first years of their life while they are in hiding they will eat anything that floats their way.  In captivity they may also become cannibalistic, eating other lobsters.  To prevent this, their claws must always be banded.  In order to eat their food, lobsters use their claws.  The bigger claw is called the crusher claw, used to crush shells.  The smaller is called the ripper claw, used to tear apart their prey.


http://www.ehow.com/info_8093829_feeding-habits-maine-lobsters.html














Lobsters' Biology


There are twelve basic parts of a lobster. The abdomen the commonly referred to as the tail of the lobster. Their antennae are tactile organs, which are used for sense of touch. The carapace the outer shell of the cephalothorax. In a sense, it is the protective layer. The cephalothorax is the part of the lobster including the head and thorax sections. This makes up the body. The first chelipod is the crusher claw. This is the larger of the claws, and it has a rounded surface for crushing prey. The second chelipod is the smaller of the claws, known as the ripper or pincher claw. This claw is more pointed and sharp for tearing food apart. Lobsters have compund eyes for their sense of sight. Their mandiable is a jawlike structure used for crushing and eating food. A lobsters’ pereiopods are its walking legs. There are two sets of walking legs right behind the claws, which are also used for catching and eating food and have taste sensors. The two sets in the back are used for walking. The pleopods are known as swimmerets and have tiny hairs. For females the hairs are a bit longer and are attachment points for eggs. The telson is the central tail fin. The uropods are the outer pairs of tail fins. 

Female
Male
Both male and female lobsters have similar appendages behind the walker legs. However, with males, theirs are bony, and females have feathery like appendages. The tail can also be used to identify the sex of lobsters. Females the tail is broad for room to hold the egg mass. A male’s tail is narrower in comparison.  Female lobsters carry thousands of eggs attached to their swimmerets. On average, the eggs are attached for about a year, but it varies depending on water temperature. Even though a female lobster carries thousands of eggs, only about 0.1% of the eggs make it over six weeks without being dropped. 

Lobster holding its own claw, which appears to
have removed itself.
Lobsters can regenerate and remove certain body parts on their own. They can amputate their own claws and legs to escape danger, but sometimes a lobster will drop a claw with no obvious reason. Lobster blood is a clear fluid, but when the creature is boiled, it transforms into a opaque whitish gel. It does not have flavor and safe to eat. If a wounded lobster if caught, it is best to throw it back into the ocean. If it is bleeding, the sea bottom in the best pace for the lobster to be since the water pressure will assist in stopping the bleeding. If the lobster has been hauled at the legal size, it can be kept in the trap, and the trap can be reset for a later date.

Lobster that has just finished molting,
beside its old shell.
Lobsters molt in order to grow. Molting is when an animal sheds its shell. Lobsters emit enzymes to soften the shell and the connective joints. When the shell splits down the back, the lobster backs out leaving the shell behind. With every molt, a lobster grows around twenty percent. When a lobster gets to the legal size for hauling, it will have molted between twenty and twenty-five times, with about four or five molts per year. When an animals first molts, it is very vulnerable since the new shell is soft at first. Lobsters will hide in the rocks for six to eight weeks until the new shell hardens enough to be good protection. The larva of lobster also molt. They molt about six times while they are still in the egg. The larva are released from the mother’s swimmerets to hatch. They float freely in the water column and molt several more times before they even begin to look like lobsters people know of. 

More Information/Images:





Lobster Biology

What is the average lifespan for a wild lobster? 
- Lobsters are crustaceans that are known to be aggressive at times but they also have very good survival instincts. Due to the lobsters survival instincts and dominance on the ocean floor, lobsters live for an average of about 50 years. Some lobsters can live up to 80 years but due to the dangers of the ocean, most do not make it that long.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/lobster/
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByR5Gz40EcmH48CeHuNYP3n7rScrefHW8zyTvg2S33RgZb0QPBZ6l896D5DB0GcG14VEGAusd1OvBkh4jxMziy1alNY2ThDjiQiOQPSWjMQS7hucpRWQxdiJWbcYWr1EfZQR5d0NG5Y8/s1600/l+red+lobsters+old+live.jpg

How do lobsters reproduce?
- Females can only reproduce directly after they shed their shell, or molt. Instead of having the male lobsters decide their mate, the female is the one that approaches the male and releases pheromones in the male lobsters direction. The female will stay in the male lobsters den until her shell has grown back and has hardened and by that time they have mated. The female lobsters will carry the eggs on the underside of their tale until they are ready to hatch.
http://www.gan.ca/animals/lobsters.en.html
http://i.mol.im/i/pix/2010/03_01/PregLobsterAP_378x650.jpg

What makes a lobster such a unique organism? 
- Lobsters have very poor vision, they can only detect movement but not the shape of the figure. Instead of using their poor vision to hunt and escape predators,  they use their receptors to detect other organisms in the ocean. The lobster's long antennae are used to taste the particles in the water. A lobster also has tiny hair like bristles on its legs that can also taste what is on the sea floor. The lobster more than compensates for its lack of sight with its smell, taste, and touch sensory.
http://www.gma.org/lobsters/allaboutlobsters/parts.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/California_spiny_lobster.JPG/800px-California_spiny_lobster.JPG

How do lobsters defend themselves in the ocean? 
- The defense techniques that the clawed lobster and the rock lobster have similarities and differences. Due to the rock lobsters lack of claws, the rock lobster usually attempts to hide underneath rocks and crevices. The clawed lobster is usually bigger than the rock lobster and uses its claws to fight off predators, but the clawed lobster still uses the cover of a rock on most occasions. Both species of lobsters have a hard exoskeleton to protect their soft insides.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00227-005-0191-2?LI=true
http://www.ilovebluesea.com/ilbs_wp_blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/lobster-claw.jpg

Lobster Bio

What is the average size of a lobster?
The average weight of a lobster is about 1.25-1.5 lbs. If a lobster is under 1 pound the lobsterman are not allowed to keep it. There have been reports of lobsters growing up to 44 lbs. The maximum legal length of a lobster is 5 inches in carapace length.

http://www.lobsteranywhere.com/maine-lobster/category/lobster101
http://maine-lobster.com/lobster-facts



What is the usual diet of a lobster?
Lobsters are nocturnal animals. The diet of a lobster consists of small fish, crabs, mussels, clams, and sea urchins. Lobsters also scavenge around on the sea floor, which means they will eat dead things and basically eat whatever they can find for food. Lobsters have been known to be cannibalistic and will eat each other often.

http://www.lobster.um.maine.edu/index.php?page=50



How often and why do lobsters molt there shells?
The reason lobsters molt there shells, is so that they can grow. A lobster will molt about 25 times in for about 5-7 years until the lobster has reached its maximum size and cannot grow anymore. The months that lobsters usually molt there shells are June to the end of July. After a lobster molts, it becomes very soft but the lobster will harden over time.

http://www.lobsteranywhere.com/maine-lobster/category/lobster101



What is the mating process of a lobster and when do they mate?
A female lobster can only mate after molting and a male lobster can only mate before molting. After a female molts, she will go searching for the most dominant male she can find. When she finds a male she will release pheromones into the water signaling to the male that she wants to mate. The male will come out of its den with its claws raised. Facing the male lobster, the female will either accept or deny the male. If she accepts she will place her claws on top of the males head signaling she has accepted the male lobster. The female lobster can have up to 10,000-15,000 eggs. Only about 1% of the eggs will survive and become lobsters. The female will carry these eggs for 9 to 11 months. 

http://www.parl.ns.ca/lobster/lifecycle.htm