Habitat degradation increases interspecific trophic competition between three spiny lobster species in Seychelles

The role of tropical small-scale fisheries in trace element delivery for a Small Island Developing State community, the Seychelles

“…Removal of lipids and urea before the C and N isotope analysis is recommended to avoid biased results due to lipids being more depleted in 13 C than other tissue components and to urea being more depleted in 15 N (Li et al, 2016;Logan et al, 2008;Post et al, 2007). In this study, spiny lobsters characterised by a low fat content in the tail muscle (mean of 0.74±0.14% wet weight as reported in (Sabino et al, 2021), were analysed directly for stable isotopes (bulk δ 13 C and δ 15 N values), while δ 13 C corresponded to lipid-normalised values for all other species, and δ 15 N corresponded to urea-normalised values for shark species.…”

“…However, concentrations exceeding the maximum values reported in crustaceans (i.e., 95.3 µg.g -1 ww) suggest a link with the bioavailability of As in their food items. Indeed, the four crustacean species analysed here are known to feed partly on invertebrates like bivalves, while spiny lobsters have been reported to also feed on macroalgae (Sardenne et al, 2021). Although bivalves generally display low As uptake from seawater (Gómez-Batista et al, 2007;Hédouin et al, 2009), As accumulation can be very high when there is a disequilibrium between phosphorous (P) and nitrogen (N).…”

Metabolic plasticity improves lobster’s resilience to ocean warming but not to climate-driven novel species interactions

“…This subtropical species increasingly co-occurs in the resident temperate habitat of J. edwardsii (Fig. 1 ) and will likely compete for shelter and/or food 84 , 85 , particularly in resource impoverished localities 86 , such as recently formed urchin-dominated barren habitats 83 . In addition to the fact that S. verreauxi grows faster and much larger 46 , we found that it consistently matches or exceeds physiological and escape performance of J. edwardsii between 14 and 21 °C, which included higher maximum metabolic rate, aerobic scope, escape frequency and speed (Fig.…”

Resident lobsters dominate food competition with range-shifting lobsters in an ocean warming hotspot

“…Competition between spiny lobsters has been observed where shelter is limited or of insufficient quality (Eggleston et al 1990, Briones-Fourzán et al 2007. Resource competition between spiny lobsters will be further enhanced in degraded reef habitats, such as coral reefs following bleaching (Sabino et al 2021). Such habitat degradation is particularly problematic in Tasmanian waters, where ocean warming and the arrival of the range-extending destructive longspined sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii has converted formerly rich underwater kelp forests to impoverished barren habitats (Johnson et al 2005, Ling et al 2015.…”