Distribution and dispersal of the phyllosoma larvae of the western rock lobster, Panulirus cygnus, in the southeastern Indian Ocean

1980 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 887
1979 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 773 ◽  
Author(s):  
BF Phillips ◽  
PA Brown ◽  
DW Rimmer ◽  
DD Reid

Data on the phyllosoma larvae of P. cygnus caught on seven cruises carried out between April 1976 and January 1977 off the west coast of Australia are presented and discussed. The studies were undertaken to determine the length of the plankton cycle, the distribution of the phyllosoma in the south-eastern Indian Ocean and the extent of the offshore dispersal. Analyses showed the average length of the planktonic life to be less than one year and probably between 9 and 11 months. After hatching most early phyllosoma were transported offshore. Few larvae remained on or near the continental shelf. The maximum westward extent of the phyllosoma distribution of P. cygnus was not determined because significant numbers of phyllosoma were still found as far offshore as 99� 001E. (1500 km offshore), the furthest station sampled. The phyllosoma were distributed over an extensive area of the south-eastern Indian Ocean, and there were few stations beyond the continental shelf between 24� 30'S. and 35� 00'S., from 99� 00'E. to 115� 00'E., during midwinter, at which phyllosoma were not caught. The highest densities of mid-and late-stage phyllosoma occurred between 111� 00' E. and 104� 00' E. (between 375 and 1030 km offshore), at 29� 30'S. The area of greatest abundance was due west of the approximate centre of the adult distribution on the coast. The significance of the circulation of the south-eastern Indian Ocean in the transport of the larvae is discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 1003-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christin Säwström ◽  
Lynnath E. Beckley ◽  
Megan I. Saunders ◽  
Peter A. Thompson ◽  
Anya M. Waite

Aquaculture ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 260 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 114-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Johnston ◽  
Roy Melville-Smith ◽  
Blair Hendriks ◽  
Greg B. Maguire ◽  
Bruce Phillips

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Caputi ◽  
S. de Lestang ◽  
M. Feng ◽  
A. Pearce

Previous studies have demonstrated that one area of greatest increase in surface sea temperatures (SST) (0.02°C per year) in the Indian Ocean over the last 50 years occurs off the lower west coast of Australia, an area dominated by the Leeuwin Current. The present paper examines water temperature trends at several coastal sites since the early 1970s: two rock lobster puerulus monitoring sites in shallow water (<5 m); four sites from a monitoring program onboard rock lobster vessels that provide bottom water temperature (<36 m); and an environmental monitoring site at Rottnest (0–50 m depth). Two global SST datasets are also examined. These data show that there was a strong seasonal variation in the historic increases in temperature off the lower west coast of Australia, with most of the increases (0.02–0.035°C per year) only focussed on 4–6 months over the austral autumn–winter with little or no increase (<0.01°C per year) apparent in the austral spring–summer period. These increases are also apparent after taking into account the interannual variation in the strength of the Leeuwin Current. The warming trend results in a change to the seasonal temperature cycle over the decades, with a delay in the peak in the temperature cycle during autumn between the 1950s and 2000s of ~10–20 days. A delay in the timing of the minimum temperature is also apparent at Rottnest from August–September to October. This seasonal variation in water temperature increases and its effect on the annual temperature cycle should be examined in climate models because it provides the potential to better understand the specific processes through which climate change and global warming are affecting this region of the Indian Ocean. It also provides an opportunity to further test the climate models to see whether this aspect is predicted in the future projections of how increases will be manifest. Any seasonal variation in water temperature increase has important implications for fisheries and the marine ecosystem because it may affect many aspects of the annual life cycle such as timing of growth, moulting, mating, spawning and recruitment, which have to be taken into account in the stock assessment and management of fisheries.


2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (8) ◽  
pp. 810 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Limbourn ◽  
R. C. Babcock ◽  
D. J. Johnston ◽  
P. D. Nichols ◽  
B. Knott

Rock lobster species are found worldwide and have a life history that includes development through a planktonic phyllosoma followed by a nektonic non-feeding puerulus that relies on stored energy during recruitment into near-shore habitats. Recruitment to adult populations of western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) is highly variable and is likely to be strongly influenced by shelf width and oceanic conditions affecting cross-shelf transport and nutrition. Since the nutritional status of newly settled pueruli will reflect the phyllosoma feeding environment and distance swum, we studied levels of lipid, fatty acid (FA) and protein of 422 pueruli and 79 first instar juveniles from four Western Australian locations. Lipid levels generally were inversely related to shelf width but were variable, suggesting pueruli may travel complex trajectories to coastal settlement. Lipid and FA composition of pueruli were consistent with spatial and seasonal variation in Leeuwin Current and coastal productivity regimes. Seasonal differences in FA composition occurred regardless of the year of settlement. Pueruli had lower lipid levels during ENSO years, when recruitment tends to be lower also. Measures of puerulus nutritional status appear to provide valuable insights into the processes underpinning recruitment in Panulirus cygnus and other commercially and ecologically important species.


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Macmillan ◽  
Shaun L. Sandow ◽  
David M. Wikeley ◽  
Stewart Frusher

First-stage phyllosoma larvae of the rock lobster Jasus edwardsii attached to and fed on larvae of the Tasmanian trumpeter fish, Latris lineata, when the two were placed together in an aerated, through-circulating, sea-water aquarium. Scanning electron micrographs of the mouthparts showed adaptations suitable for scraping and cutting soft substrata. Phyllosomas removed from the fish while feeding had pigment particles from the fish integument throughout their digestive tracts. The behaviour of these phyllosomas, swimming in a Petri dish, was recorded with a microscope and video system. The presence of the pigment particles made it possible to see the lumen of the gut diverticulae and parts of them undergoing regular contractions. Transmission electron micrographs of the gut showed that the parts of the gut that contracted in the video records have well developed muscle bands associated with them. The ultrastructure of the digestive tract is relatively uniform throughout and is lined by cells resembling the undifferentiated (E) cells of other scyllarid and palinurid larvae. Extensive folding of the wall, together with a brush border on the digestive cells, results in a large surface area for absorption. There is no grinding or filtering apparatus in the digestive tract. The behaviour of the phyllosoma, structure of the mouthparts, and ultrastructure of the digestive tract, suggest that the first-stage phyllosoma of J. edwardsii is adapted for removing soft tissue from gelatinous organisms and pumping it around the digestive tract.


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