Field Studies of the Population Dynamics of the Spotted Spiny Lobster Panulirus guttatus (Latreille) at Bermuda

Abstract

Results of a study on the population dynamics of the spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus (Latreille) at Bermuda are described. The annual growth coefficients (K) for male and female spotted spiny lobsters P. guttatus are estimated at 0.22 and 0.16 from size frequency analyses. Annual total mortality, fishing mortality, natural mortality, and recruitment coefficients (Z, F, M, and R) for 1987 were estimated at 0.79, 0.46, 0.33, and 0.79, respectively, based on length and weight data and the exploitation rate (E = 0.58) was estimated from population weight data. The catchability coefficient (q) for 1987 was estimated at 3.9 × 10-6/ trap-haul from the estimate of F and the 1987 data for total effort. The stock size (N1987) of trappable P. guttatus lobsters at the start of calendar year 1987 was estimated at approximately 71 × 103 individuals from q and industry catch and effort data. The population showed marked spatial preference with the density at the reef crest an order of magnitude greater than in the reef system as a whole.