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Biol. Bull. 211: 128-139. (October 2006)
© 2006 Marine Biological Laboratory

Source and Specificity of Chemical Cues Mediating Shelter Preference of Caribbean Spiny Lobsters (Panulirus argus)

Amy J. Horner1,*, Scott P. Nickles1, Marc J. Weissburg2 and Charles D. Derby1

1 Brains and Behavior Program and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Biology, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 4010, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4010
2 School of Biology, 310 Ferst Dr., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0290

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ahorner{at}gsu.edu

Caribbean spiny lobsters display a diversity of social behaviors, one of the most prevalent of which is gregarious diurnal sheltering. Previous research has demonstrated that shelter selection is chemically mediated, but the source of release and the identity of the aggregation signal are unknown. In this study, we investigated the source and specificity of the aggregation signal in Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus. We developed a relatively rapid test of shelter choice in a 5000-l laboratory flume that simulated flow conditions in the spiny lobster’s natural environment, and used it to examine the shelter preference of the animals in response to a variety of odorants. We found that both males and females associated preferentially with shelters emanating conspecific urine of either sex, but not with shelters emanating seawater, food odors, or the scent of a predatory octopus. These results demonstrate specificity in the cues mediating sheltering behavior and show that urine is at least one source of the aggregation signal.






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