ABNORMAL EGG STALK MORPHOLOGY IS CORRELATED WITH CLUTCH ATTRITION IN LABORATORY-MAINTAINED LOBSTERS (HOMARUS)

¹ Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521

Female lobsters attach fertilized eggs to ovigerous setae on the pleopods by a stalk. Often a large percentage of the clutch is lost during the 6-12 month brooding interval, especially in laboratory-maintained females. The factors responsible for egg loss during brooding are undefined. We have compared the morphological characteristics of egg stalks from wild and laboratory-spawned females and correlated these characteristics with egg retention. Our data show that the morphology of egg stalks varies among laboratory-maintained lobsters and that there is a strong positive correlation between abnormal stalk morphology and clutch attrition. We conclude that improper formation of the egg stalk is a major cause of egg loss in laboratory-maintained lobsters.

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