The conceptual approach to lobster shell disease revisited

Abstract

A shell disease epizootic is described for the American clawed lobster (Homarus americanus) populations in southern New England. This paper presents a conceptual model for examination of shell disease and presents evidence to support three hypotheses. Hypothesis one proposes that epizootic shell disease prevalence has increased in wild lobster populations; hypothesis two proposes that there are population-level effects of shell disease and hypothesis three explores the relationship between shell disease, and environmental and anthropogenic disturbances. This conceptual model links environmental stressors to physiological upsets and disease to population level impacts and can serve as a general model of disease in the marine environment.