Rising Temperatures, Molting Phenology, and Epizootic Shell Disease in the American Lobster.

Rising Temperatures, Molting Phenology, and Epizootic Shell Disease in the American Lobster. Am Nat. 2018 Nov;192(5):E163-E177 Authors: Groner ML, Shields JD, Landers DF, Swenarton J, Hoenig JM Abstract Phenological mismatch-maladaptive changes in phenology resulting from altered timing of environmental cues-is an increasing concern in many ecological systems, yet its effects on disease are poorly characterized. American lobster (Homarus americanus) is declining at its southern geographic limit. Rising seawater temperatures are associated with seasonal outbreaks of epizootic shell disease (ESD), which peaks in prevalence in the fall. We used a 34-year mark-recapture data set to investigate relationships between temperature, molting phenology, and ESD in Long Island Sound, where temperatures are increasing at 0.4°C per decade. Our analyses support the hypothesis that phenological mismatch is linked to the epidemiology of ESD. Warming spring temperatures are correlated with earlier spring molting. Lobsters lose diseased cuticle by molting, and early molting increases the intermolt period in the summer, when disease prevalence is increasing to a fall peak. In juvenile and adult male lobsters, September ESD prevalence was correlated with early molting, while October ESD prevalence was correlated with summer seawater temperature. This suggests that temperature-induced molting phenology affects the timing of the onset of ESD, but later in...
Source: The American Naturalist - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Am Nat Source Type: research