Physiological impacts of climate change on juvenile American lobster Homarus americanus (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae), a commercially important species 

The American lobster, Homarus americanus, H. Milne Edwards, 1837 is an ecologically, economically, and culturally valuable marine resource for the coastal communities in the Gulf of Maine. Lobsters in the Gulf of Maine are experiencing the effects of rapid warming and acidification due to climate change. Lobster shells are comprised of chitin with precisely precipitated minerals (calcite, amorphous calcium carbonate, and carbonate apatite) that provide structural integrity to the shell and protection against predators and microbial intrusion. We examined the combined effects of ocean warming and acidification on shell mineralogy, epibiont abundance, and growth in early benthic juveniles. Lobsters were grown under six different temperature/pCO₂ treatment conditions over 52 days (three replicates per treatment) aligned with environmentally relevant as well as predicted future extremes. Elevated pCO₂ and temperature led to a decrease in shell calcium and magnesium content, suggesting that these environmental stressors inhibit shell biomineralization. There was an interactive effect of the stressors on epibiont abundance with the probability of epibiont coverage increasing with increasing pCO₂ and temperature. Elevated pCO₂ alone was significantly correlated (P = 0.002) to decreased growth, but only for female lobsters. Ocean acidification and warming significantly affect shell integrity in juvenile lobster, increasing risk to injury and disease with potential downstream consequences for the lobster fishery.

San Antonio C., Tlusty M. & Hannigan R., 2024. Physiological impacts of climate change on juvenile American lobster Homarus americanus (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae), a commercially important species. Journal of Crustacean Biology 44(1): ruae007. doi: 10.1093/jcbiol/ruae007. Article (subscription required).

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