Artificial shelters (casitas) as habitats for juvenile spiny lobsters Panulirus argus in the Mexican Caribbean

Abstract

The cryptlc and shelter-seeklng behav~our of spiny lobsters Panulirus argus Latrellle prompted the use of artlflclal shelters to examine the juvenlle population structure at Cayos-Contoy. Quintana Roo, Mexlco We tested the hypothesis that habltat type had no influence on shelter occupancy T h e arhflcial shelters used were concrete structures w~t h a PVC frame ( m m -s l z e casltas) Macrofauna a n d potential predators associated wlth the mm-casltas were also quantified The size of the lobsters harbored by these structures emphasized the Importance of the Cayos-Contoy as a nursery habltat for P argus Differences in mini-casita occupancy by luvendes and the assoclatlon between habltat and lobster size groups suggest that availab~llty of natural habitats had an influence on casita occupancy The penodlc removal ot all lobsters from the mini-casitas resulted in the vacancies being occupled mostly by a size-spec~flc group oi juveniles Trans~tional (16 to 25 m m carapace length, CL) and postalgal (26 to 35 mm CL) luvenile stages recruited malnly to vegetated habitats with larger lobsters occupylng patch reef habitats Mlni-caslta occupancy was dominated by transitional and post-algal early juvenlle stages (41 1 and 34 6% respectlvely) The fact that the highest percentage of minl-caslta occupancy is by transitional juvenlle P argusls considered to represent a 'population bottleneck effect

Postlarval settlement of spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804) (Decapoda: Palinuridae), at the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica

“…Quinn & Kojis, 1997;Eggleston et al, 1998). Thus, and to facilitate an adequate management of the spiny lobster resource in Costa Rica (and neighboring countries), we suggest (a) initiating a long-term program to monitor postlarval settlement in Parque Nacional Cahuita and adjacent areas, ideally as part of a Central American monitoring program, with the participation of local communities, research groups, and governmental as well as non-governmental agencies; (b) studying migrations and distribution patterns of different life stages of P. argus through capture-recapture studies, (c) evaluating the economic, social and ecological viability of introducing artificial shelters (so-called "casitas"); the introduction of "casitas" in Cuba and Mexico (Arce et al, 1997;Briones & Lozano, 2001;Briones et al, 2007;Cruz et al, 2007) was highly successful, and both local fishery communities and marine environment benefited from this management measure. Moreover, and according to Afonso & Gruber (2007), the prevalence of appropriate habitat for juvenile lobsters with adequate shelter next to algal-stage habitats should enhence their survival, therefore improving recruitment to the adult population and consequent harvestable stock-size.…”

Effects of artificial shelters (Casitas) on the abundance and biomass of juvenile spiny lobsters Panulirus argus in a habitat-limited tropical reef lagoon

“…Although casitas also attracted potential piscine predators, this does not necessarily imply an increase in predation rates on lobster juveniles in casitas (Arce et al 1997, Eggleston et al 1997, Sosa-Cordero et al 1998. The cohabitation in casitas of juvenile P. argus and their potential predators is common in locations where casitas are used in the fishery (e.g.…”

“…We scaled casitas to the size range of lobsters in the lagoon (Eggleston et al 1990, Arce et al 1997, which were mostly postalgal juveniles. The casitas consisted of a frame measuring 0.90 × 1.20 m, built with PVC pipes 3.8 cm in diameter, and a flat ferrocement roof attached to the frame.…”

“…Depending on the size of the casitas and on the depth and type of habitat where they are deployed, casitas can be occupied by 1 or more of the gregarious, crevice-dwelling, benthic phases of Panulirus argus (Eggleston et al 1990, Arce et al 1997, Sosa-Cordero et al 1998). These phases are: (a) post-algal juveniles (15 to 45 mm carapace length, CL), which emerge from their previous algal habitat in search for crevices; (b) subadults (45 to 80 mm CL); and (c) adults (> 80 mm CL) (Butler & Herrnkind 1997).…”

Spatiotemporal bioeconomic performance of artificial shelters in a small-scale, rights-based managed Caribbean spiny lobster (<em>Panulirus argus</em>) fishery

“…The use of artificial shelters in the Cuban (Cruz et al 1995) and Mexican-Yucatán peninsula fisheries (Briones-Fourzán and Lozano-Álvarez 2001) suggest that they have served as stepping stones and allowed spiny lobsters to access large areas with substantial food resources but limited cover, where predators would normally prevent their use of the trophic resources in open sea bottom areas (Arce et al 1997, Caddy 2008.…”