Behavioral Analysis of the Escape Response in the Juvenile Lobster Homarus Americanus over the Molt Cycle

1. Components of the escape response of the American lobster were compared over the molt cycle. Number of tailflips, frequency, duration and distance were measured. Velocity, acceleration, force and work were computed from the above measurements, using time-lapse video-recordings of escaping lobsters. 2. Soft-shelled postmolt lobsters (stage B) traveled further, spent more time tailflipping and performed a larger number of tailflips than hard-shelled premolt lobsters (stage D). Hard-shelled lobsters had a more forceful initial power swim, achieved a higher overall velocity and acceleration and, therefore, produced more forceful swims with greater energy expenditure (measured by work output) than soft-shelled animals. 3. Among hard-shelled lobsters, velocity, acceleration, force and work fell off markedly in the latter part of their subsequent swims as a consequence of the prolonged duration and reduced frequency of these swims. Soft-shelled lobsters sustained their swimming velocity, acceleration, force and work for their entire subsequent swimming response. 4. There are likely to be large molt-related differences in energy metabolism, endocrinology and nerve and muscle physiology which lead to the observed differences in the escape response.