Effect of Global Warming on Lobsters

                                                                       How does global warming affect lobsters?

Global warming affects lobsters in negative ways. Lobsters are healthy, if the temperature of the ocean water and chemical composition is right. Sea water contains calcium carbonate which is extracted into lobsters helping them build their shells. If calcium carbonate was reduced in the ocean, then it will ultimately hurt the lobsters and shorten their lives. Although warmer water has been known to increase lobster population, it also can damage the food source for larval lobsters, reducing the numbers of born lobsters. Additionally, warm water also increases the chance of disease is lobsters which could greatly affect us all. 

http://globalwarming-factorfiction.com/2007/12/28/global-warmings-impact-on-lobsters-has-scientists-in-a-stew/

How does global warming affect lobster’s interaction with one another?

When lobsters are caught by fishermen and put into tanks, their claws get banded up so they don’t eat one another in the depressing and tiny tanks. This behavior usually was usually only seen when lobsters were locked up together in a tank, but now because of global warming the cannibalism of lobsters is happening in the ocean. Because global warming is heating the water up, the lobster population is increasing, while its predators are being killed off by the water change. This results in a high number of lobsters crowding each other. The big lobsters eat the little ones as they are a nuisance and food has become more limited. 

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/warming-oceans-are-turning-lobsters-into-cannibals

Lobster Cannibalism: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvF7IYa6obc&feature=player_embedded

What is lobster shell disease?

Lobster shell disease is caused by global warming as it heats up the ocean waters allowing for more bacteria to grow. Along the coast of Maine, and in the Long Island Sound, many lobsters are dying because of shell disease. The shell disease eats the lobster alive as it eats through its shell and prevents the lobster from molting, resulting in its death. Shell disease is not caused by one bacteria, it is caused by many that make the perfect combination in destroying lobster shells. Researchers first noticed lobster shell disease 20 years ago. The disease showed up as little black dots on the lobsters’ shells. Today, the disease has gotten so bad that lobsters’ entire shell is infected! Some shells are even rotted entirely. In the southern New England area and the Long Island sound, thirty percent off the total lobster population is infected.

http://cos.gmu.edu/research/news/lobster_disease

Global Warming

What is global warming’s impact on lobsters?

The concept of global warming is the idea that Earth’s atmosphere will grow warmer and the concentration of carbon dioxide will continue to increase.  With this, global sea temperatures will rise, which will cause the ocean water to become more acidic.  As expected, this is not good for the animals living in the sea.  For example, lobsters are dependent on drawing calcium carbonate from the water in order to build their shells.  However, if the waters become more acidic, the lobsters will have to work harder to build their shells, taking energy away from searching for food.  In addition, while scientists have known about the predicted increase in ocean acidity, they are still unsure how it will affect lobsters in the Gulf of Maine.  

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

What is the impact of warm water on cold water lobsters?

There are two different types of lobster - Spiny lobsters, which are found in warm waters such as the Caribbean, and Clawed lobsters found in cold waters, such as Maine.  Clawed lobsters are cold-blooded, as a result of their body temperatures being determined by the water they live in.  Many parts of the lobsters’ life such as a food and reproduction is dependent on the temperature of the ocean floor.  If the cold-water lobsters are living in higher temperatures, they will need to use more energy for respiration.  This will leave them with less energy to grow and reproduce.  In addition, the habits of the lobsters will fluctuate with temperature.  They are likely to move toward higher latitudes or to areas cooled by tidal mixing.  Thus, they are still on the hunt for colder temperatures.  

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

What is the issue with “lobster shell disease”?

Scientists have been able to, through seen evidence, link rising ocean water temperatures to the spread of lobster shell disease in Massachusetts waters.  Lobster shell disease has become increasingly more common over the years.  This disease is caused by bacterial infection in the carapace.  In addition, a new type of shell disease was discovered in the late 1990’s in New England when temperatures were higher than before.  The more threatening temperatures are when the waters exceed 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 degrees Farehnheit.  This disease also impacts the lobsters growth, promoting sexual maturity earlier than it would have naturally been.  Overall, lobster shell disease is caused by the increasing water temperatures as a result of global warming, and is unsafe for the creatures affected.  

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

Global Warming Impact On Lobsters

How does global warming affect the ocean?
Global warming is the atmosphere of the earth getting warmer. Its happening because all of the CO2 we use is polluting the atmosphere. This pollution and rise in temperature is taking its tole on the oceans, they are beginning to get warmer and become more acidic. This is hurting coral reefs abilities to grow and scientist expect a major die off in the next 50 years.

How does acidic water impact lobster?
Like coral reefs lobsters rely on drawing calcium carbonate from the water to build there shells. If the waters of the Northeast Atlantic grow more acidic, crustaceans will have to work harder to build there shells, and will have less energy for finding and getting food. This could have a serious impact on lobsters ability to reproduce, and could seriously hurt the lobster industry.

How are warm waters impacting lobster?


Scientist have found that the waters of Maine have been steadily increasing over the last few years, but so has the lobster population. They don't expect that trend to keep going though, smaller lobsters feed off the plankton, which have two large blooms a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. The warmer waters could move the plankton blooms to later in the fall and earlier in the spring. That means no plankton would be around when the lobster larvae are around in the summer, so they would have nothing to feed on. South of Cape Cod the lobster population left about 10 years ago and has never fully came back. Warmer dirties waters are also giving the lobsters a disease called shell disease. It does nothing to affect the meat of the lobster but it makes the shell to unsightly for sale. Scientist from Southern Maine say the warm waters hurting or helping the lobster literally depends on a few degrees. If the water temperatures rise just a couple degrees the lobsters food will grow rapidly and they will have lots of food to eat. But if it raises to much the lobsters become stress and will start to die off.

Is global warming harming lobsters?

What does global warming do to the population of lobsters?
The population of lobsters has begun to decrease due to global warming. Larval lobsters feed off two different types of microscopic organisms . phytoplankton and zooplankton are used to feed these new-born lobsters. Due to warmer water temperature, these organism can not grow and if they do it is at the wrong time. This makes it nearly impossible for the new lobsters to survive. The lobster population south of cape cod has crashed.

Does warmer water temperature threaten the lobsters health?
Yes. Scientist have found that in the years since global warming has been a problem there has been an increased amount of lobsters with shell disease. Also scientist are now finding new kinds of shell diseases that have never been seen before. "Scientists have also seen evidence linking rising seawater temperatures to the spread of lobster shell disease in Massachusetts’ waters. Caused by a bacterial infection in the carapace, lobster shell disease has become dramatically more common in recent years." Scientist also say the disease has been known in lobsters who spend more time in waters over 68 degrees F.

Could global warming be good for lobsters?
The lobsterman in Maine would most likely argue yes. Due to warmer waters down south and increased population of lobster has been found in the gulf of Maine. "This may also be due to ocean warming, as It may be that the newly warmer waters spur a longer growing season, encourage more rapid growth, cause lobsters to hatch earlier and provide better conditions for larval lobsters." With warmer water , over-fishing has eliminated then number of Cod as well which is a predator.

Biology of a Lobster

How do you tell the sex of the lobster?

On the “belly” side of the lobster are swimmerets. They are small feather-like appendages on the tail. The first pair of swimmerets that are closet to the main part of the lobster’s body, are tough, hard, and bony. The rest of them are soft like all of the swimmerets on a female. Female lobsters have a small shield that is rectangular and lies between her second pair of legs. This is where the sperm are stored after mating before she lays her eggs. Additionally, females have bigger and wider tales than males as they need the broadness to carry a lot of eggs. 
http://www.gma.org/lobsters/trivia.html

How do lobsters mate?

Before a female lobster begins her molting process, she approaches a male and releases her scent by urinating. If he chooses to accept her, he will come out of his niche and the two have a short sparring battle. When the female is ready to molt and mate, she puts her claws on the male’s head to let him know she is ready. When the male and female lobsters enter his niche the female gets out of her shell in the molting process. The male then proceeds to flip the female over onto her back using his legs and mouth. Next, the male passes his sperm into the female’s body between her sets of legs, using his rigid and hard swimmerets, which are small appendages usually used for swimming. The female lobster then stays in the male’s niche, until her new shell is hard. 

http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/how-do-lobsters-mate-reproduce-and-lay-eggs-in-the-ocean

Watch a video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPTtkS_rh2k

    

                                                                                How do lobster’s breathe?

Lobster’s just like most underwater creatures breathe through their gills. However A lobster’s gills are located at the bottom of its walking legs. This is the equivalent to humans breathing from their hips! Gills are feathery blood-filled organs that extract oxygen from seawater. The blood that is in the gills then travel to other parts of the body, delivering oxygen to all areas. A lobster must keep water moving through its gills just like human keep breathing in order to continuously have oxygen move through the body. 

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/lobster-info3.htm

How do lobster’s grow?

Lobsters grow by molting, or in other-words by shedding their shells. Before shedding and leaving their old shell, they grow and soft and thin shell underneath. When the lobsters are molting, they release enzymes that soften the shell further as well as their joints. At this point, the lobster then squeezes out of its old shell while taking water in to expand their body size at the same time. The process of molting takes approximately 15 minutes and every time they molt they increase in size by 20%. At this point in time, it takes lobsters about 6 to 8 weeks for their shell to completely harden to the point where they can protect themselves. Immature lobsters, which are 5-7 years old, molt up to 25 times a year. Adult lobsters molt much less, males molt twice a year, while females only molt once. When lobsters are old they only molt once every 3-4 years. 

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

Biology of Lobsters

How do lobsters reproduce? 

Like all living creatures, lobsters must reproduce in order to prevent extinction.  A female lobster usually mates when she is in the soft shell state.  This state takes place right after she has shed her shell, or in other words, molted.  A one pound female lobster carries about 8,000 eggs, each of which are 1/16” when freshly laid.  In comparison, a nine pound female lobster can carry more than 100,000 eggs.  These eggs are carried inside for about nine to twelve months, and then become externally attached for another nine to twelve months.  These eggs are attached by a glue-like substance to the swimmerets, which is located under her tail.  Finally, once the eggs hatch, the mother releases them by fanning her swimmerets. 

Source: http://www.lobster.um.maine.edu/index.php?page=48

What is the lifecycle of a lobster? 

When lobsters are first born, they enter the larval stage of their life.  In this stage, they float near the water’s surface for about four to six weeks, while being very susceptible to prey and will go through three molts.  After the fourth molt, the few lobsters that survive will enter the post-larval stage, and settle to the bottom of the ocean.  At the bottom, they will look for hiding places such as rocks or grassy areas.  After growing more, they will start to hide less of the time.  This is called the “Juvenile Lobster” stage.  During this stage, they can molt up to twenty-five times before entering the adult stage.  The stage of adulthood is reached after five to eight years, where the male lobsters will molt once a year, and females every two years.  Lastly, lobsters grow by molting.  This is when they try to leave their shell while also absorbing water to expand body size. 

Source: http://www.lobster.um.maine.edu/index.php?page=48

How do lobsters digest?

A lobster’s digestive system is made of a long tract that contains three main regions known as the foregut, midgut, and hindgut.  Similar to people, the food is first handled by the mouth parts and crushed by the mandible before swallowing.  It then enters the esophagus, which is a muscular organ that contracts to push the food to the anterior  

chamber of the stomach.  Different muscles of the stomach compress and expand to mix the food with digestive enzymes.  The food then goes through a triangular structure, known as the gastric mill, which grinds food into fine particles so that they can pass into the pyloric stomach.  There, they are filtered according to their size - minute particles to the midgut gland to be further digested and absorbed into the blood, and larger particles back to the pyloric stomach.  From the pyloric stomach, these larger particles pass into a tubular portion of the midgut.  Finally, some of the end products of digestion are absorbed into the blood stream, while remaining material is packaged into fecal pellets.  Contractions of the midgut force these pellets to the hindgut, and proceed to the enlarged rectum where rapid contractions push the pellets out the anus.  

Source: http://www.lobsters.org/tlcbio/biology4.html

Why do lobsters turn red when they’re cooked? 

Lobsters turn red when they are cooked due to the carotenoid pigment in their shell.  This pigment, known as Astaxanthin, is the bright red coloring that is mixed with other colors.  For this reason, the lobsters have their natural coloration.  However, when combined with heat, the Astaxanthin pigment is stable, while the other pigments break down, leaving only the bright red.  

Source: http://marinelife.about.com/od/invertebrates/f/LobstersRedWhenCooked.htm

Biology of lobsters

Do all lobsters have claws?

Not all lobsters have claws. Lobsters that live in warmer climates typically do not have claws. Instead they have large antennae. Lobsters in North America or in other colder climates have claws.

What is the life span of a lobster?

A typical lobster is believed to have the ability to live up to 100 years old. For a lobster that lives in colder water or an "American" lobster to be edible it takes 6-7 years for them to grow.

What do lobsters eat?

Lobsters eat lots of living things. For instance they eat mussels, fish, crabs, sea urchins and other lobsters.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ql8w_mEedE4

Where do lobsters live?

Lobsters live in and around see weed. They also live under and in between rocks. That keeps them safe from predictors. There is also things for them to eat like mussels in the rocks.

http://marinelife.about.com/od/invertebrates/tp/LobsterFacts.htm

http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/faq/fishfaq7.html