Female American lobsters (Homarus americanus) do not delay their molt if they cannot find a mate

Abstract

Reports in the literature assert that female American lobsters are unlikely to molt if they are unable to find a mate. This study evaluated that hypothesis by determining whether an absence of males reduces the probability that females will molt after their eggs hatch. Nine groups of ovigerous lobsters held communally without males, molted in mid-to-late summer after the egg-hatching season (99% of 291 females). In a second experiment, incidence and time of molt in a group of 25 females without access to males was the same as that of 25 females in a mixed-gender group which selected mates, co-habited, and were inseminated (100% molted, mean date 23 August in both groups). These results do not support the conclusion that females defer molting if they cannot find a mate, or that a shortage of males in a population could delay the molting season.