Identifying the Environmental Factors Affecting Puerulus Settlement of the Spiny Lobster, Panulirus homarus in Awang Bay, Lombok Island

Abstract

This research aims to observe the settlement of puerulus lobster larvae in the waters of Awang Bay in relation to the spatial and temporal fluctuations in aquatic environmental conditions. This research was conducted from August to October 2020 in the waters of Awang Bay, Lombok Island. The main data collected in this study is puerulus settlement,while the supporting data are physical, chemical and biological parameters of the waters. Observations of the aquatic environment are carried out in-situ, namely direct measurements in the field and analysis of satellite images. The collected data were analyzed by multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the distribution of sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a in the waters of Awang Bay and its surroundings based on satellite imagery during August to October ranged from 25-32 °C and 0.1370 - 2.3532 mg/m3 respectively. Warm temperatures and chlorophyll-a are concentrated in coastal areas and are decreasing towards the offshore direction. The nine environmental parameters studied contained two parameters that significantly influenced individually on puerulus lobster settlement, namely the abundance of plankton and temperature. Meanwhile, brightness, current velocity, dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, phosphate and nitrate had no significant effect. The significant relationship between plankton abundance and temperature and puerulus lobster settlement was due to plankton being the main food for larvae, and the sea water temperature was still relatively stable so that lobster seeds still survived and could support puerulus lobster settlement.