On the Possible Caribbean Origin of Florida's Spiny Lobster Populations

Ingle, Robert; Eldred, Bonnie; Sims, Harold; Eldred, Eric

State of Florida, Board of Conservation, Division of Salt Water Fisheries. The present paper advances the preliminary evidence resulting from an investigation of the possible relationship of Caribbean water currents to recruitment of larval spiny lobsters to Florida. The established long life (Smith, 1948a; Sheard, 1949; Lewis, 1951; Lindberg, 1955; and Johnson, 1960) and suggested wide geographical dispersal (the above authors; Gurney, 1939; Smith, 1948b; and Thorson, 1961) of planktotrophic lobster larvae clearly pointed to this possibility. We consequently searched for published current patterns of the area concerned and began a widespread plankton sampling program south of Florida. We also extended existing larval shrimp studies of the northeastern and central western Florida coasts to help gain further information on phyllosoma larvae dispersal. Although our work continues, we prefer to reveal data from our first set of samples now in connection with a discussion of some factors of this possible recruitment (geographical distribution, larval duration, and water current patterns) so that we may enlist the cooperation of fellow scientists in obtaining available phyllosoma larvae in widely separated plankton samples. We hope that such work will result in both further knowledge of the Florida spiny lobster populations and better determination of the direction and drift of many current patterns.