Author : M. J. Tremblay
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 56 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (31 download)
Book Synopsis Lobsters and Other Invertebrates in Relation to Bottom Habitat in the Bras D'Or Lakes by : M. J. Tremblay
Download or read book Lobsters and Other Invertebrates in Relation to Bottom Habitat in the Bras D'Or Lakes written by M. J. Tremblay and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Underwater bottom video and SCUBA transects were used to assess habitat and to measure the density of lobsters (Homarus americanus), crabs and other invertebrates in the Bras d'Or Lakes in July and September of 2002 and 2003. A total of 88 video transects were conducted in East Bay, West Bay, the Barra Strait area and the outer Great Bras d'Or (New Campbellton and Cape Dauphin). A total of 50 dive transects were completed in the same areas as the video transects. Few lobsters and crabs were seen during the video transects. Bottom habitats ranged from low structure bottoms such as mud or sand with sea urchins to moderate structure bottoms (occasional boulders and cobbles on mud or sand) to high structure bottoms (extensive boulders with macrophyte cover). East Bay in particular was dominated by low structure bottom types. West Bay had more of the moderate structure bottoms and Cape Dauphin had the highest proportion of high structure bottom. The densities of lobsters from dive transects ranged from 0.019 m-2 off Cape Dauphin to 0.0005 m-2 in East Bay. Rock crab (Cancer irroratus) densities were highest in the outer Great Bras d'Or Channel (0.045 m-2) in a commercial rock crab fishing area, followed by Cape Dauphin (0.023 m-2), and were lowest in East Bay (0.002 m-2). Green crab (Carcinus maenas) densities were highest off Crammond Islands in West Bay (0.009 m-2) and lowest off East Bay (0.0005 m-2) and Cape Dauphin (none observed). Quadrat sampling during SCUBA transects provided data on other epibenthic invertebrates. The most abundant group was sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) followed by starfish (Asterias vulgaris) and periwinkles (Littorina sp.). Although good lobster habitat appears to be in short supply in Bras d'Or Lake, several areas of good lobster habitat in West Bay had much lower lobster densities than comparable areas outside of Bras d'Or Lakes. As such, factors other than physical habitat alone appear to be limiting the abundance of lobsters in these areas of West Bay. The success of attempts to enhance lobster stocks in Bras d'Or Lakes will depend on understanding what the key limiting factors are