Size- and scale-dependent chemical attraction contribute to an ontogenetic shift in sociality

Abstract

Caribbean spiny lobsters,Panulirus argus, reside solitarily during the first months postsettlement, but shift to gregarious shelter use in later juvenile stages, at sizes as small as 15mm in carapace length. To determine whether receptivity to or production of a chemical attractant among spiny lobster conspecifics is dependent upon body size or spatial scale, we conducted a series of overnight Y-maze shelter choice experiments. We placed a test lobster in an experimental arena and allowed it to choose between two shelters, which differed only in that water flowing by one shelter contained sea water that had passed through a header tank containing a conspecific. We varied the size of the lobster in the arena, the size and number of lobsters in the header tank, and the size of the experimental arena. Lobsters of all sizes tested released odours that attracted conspecifics; however, a single small lobster could attract other conspecifics only in the small arena. Lobsters greater than 15mm in carapace length were attracted to shelters from which conspecific odours were emanating, while smaller lobsters were not. The results of this study suggest that: (1) the earliest benthic stages (less than 15mm in carapace length) are unresponsive to conspecific odours, but lobsters greater than 15mm in carapace length are attracted by conspecific odours; and (2) large lobsters produce a sufficient quantity of scent to attract conspecifics over distances of at least a few metres, whereas small lobsters (15–30mm in carapace length) cannot. Body size- and spatial scale-dependent attraction could contribute to the shift from solitary to gregarious shelter use among Caribbean spiny lobsters.