Abstract

Using acoustic monitoring technology, we tracked the movements of adult and sub-adult lobsters in two distinct habi-tats. The first area is the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve (WSER) south of the Florida Keys which contains numer-ous coral and rocky outcrops providing numerous natural shelters. Tagging studies occurred during the summer between 2003 and 2007 using a total of 143 tags. The second area is in the Gulf of Mexico north of the Florida Keys. The tagging study occurred during the summer of 2011 using a total of 31 tags. This area is relatively shelter poor but also contains numerous artificial shelters (casitas) used to concentrate lobsters for fishing. In both areas we deployed arrays of acoustic receivers to track lobsters fitted with acoustic transmitters. Although technical difficulties reduced the effectiveness of the tracking array in the Gulf of Mexico, we found that some overall daily movement patterns were similar in both areas. The daily probability of a spiny lobster shifting its location greater than 300 m was 9% in the Gulf and 10% for similar sized lobsters in WSER. Movement patterns were markedly different. All Gulf of Mexico lobsters moved to the west (between 225 and 295 degrees) whereas in WSER, movements could occur in any direction.

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